Wild yeast question

[sumbrewindude]

So, using some of the remaining second runnings that I didn't need, I quick boiled it up, stuck it in the freezer to cool to 70ish, and then stuck it outside under some trees with a mesh cover to keep the bugs out of it. Approximately 6P for SG.

Put it in a sanitized 1pt mason jar with airlock, stuck it on the top of the fridge and figure whatever. Well, something apparently took hold.

1) Minor activity the first day, nothing wild, smallish foamy kreusen.
2) Second day, there was crap coming out of the airlock, wild bubbling everywhere, looked like a subdued volcano for 24 hrs, nothing like I've ever seen in a traditional fermentation.
3) Third day, quiet.
4) Now day four, you can see something going on in the wort, it's hazy like a normal fermentation, you can see particles going up/down like a more traditional fermentation, but still no kreusen and minimal airlock activity.

I guess since this is my first rodeo, and not knowing what to expect, when do I check to see how/what/where this is going? It's interesting to watch and clean up after , but when is a good time to start to get serious about what's actually in there?

 

[TheZymurgist]

Let it ride. You probably have a mix of wild yeast and lacto/pedio, and who know what else. Definitely wait at least until there's no more activity, but if you can wait until the pellicle fades, that's even better. If it were me, I'd wait months before even touching it.

 

[sumbrewindude]

Huh. Well today it looks like someone pitched S04 in it - just a whirlwind of activity, airlock's ticking away, no real kruesen to speak of.

No pellicle or any other "skinning" of the surface. Doesn't smell bad either.

It's fun to watch, that's for sure!

:rockin:

 

[sumbrewindude]

Just an update - whatever it is finally crashed out. Wort's still a little hazy, but there's a yeast cake for sure on top of the trub. Still no signs of a pelicle. I'm going to cold crash it here in a bit, then repitch whatever it is onto some DME. Hopefully with the neutral base I can get an idea what it's going to taste like...

Toss a few hops in the DME for a little bitter y'all think?

 

[sumbrewindude]

Update again -

I put it on top of the fridge and forgot about it for a few months, checking on the airlock every now and then.

It's now got a pelicle (took a while to show up, but it's there!), and is finally starting to get funky! :rockin: Wierd feeling excited for an "infection", but I was so happy when I started seeing the pelicle show up after months of nothing.

Thinking I'll let it hang out until Jan, then step it up to a 1gal container. Treat the whole thing like a giant starter and use the stir plate?

 

[TheZymurgist]

Here's a pretty good write up on this very thing. It discusses the possibility of cooling time and temp playing a role in the organisms that take hold:

http://www.browneandbitter.com/2014/12/failure-spontaneous-fermentation.html

 

[BGBC]

Pellicle pics please :fro:

 

[m00ps]

I've read a pellicle is a barrier the wild yeast puts up to protect against oxygen and other wild yeasts from taking hold (selfish bastards). So just because you dont have one, doesnt mean your wild yeast isn;t working. If you hadn't opened it yet to take a sample, I doubt there would be very much O2 left in there...

 

[sumbrewindude]

The bottle was only "opened" once, and it really wasnt opened so much as I took the airlock off to replace it with a clean one and top off with vodka - the original one went through a blow off on the initial ferment, and was replaced a few weeks after the initial. Other than that, it's just been vodka and time.

I had read that it's more the presence of O2 that causes the pellicle, so it might have just taken it's sweet time.

Also, quick looking at my notes, this was actually the sister of the two I put out - this one was put out under some tomato plants, the other was under the tree/bush. What's ticking me off is that the tape I had on the bottle has come off so I'm missing some notes on what it was...

The one weird thing is, the trub/cake that was on the bottom is disturbed - like a whole chunk of it kicked up and looks like either another fermentation tried to kick off, or it just decided it didn't want to be a smooth flat surface anymore. Weird. It wasn't shaken or moved, so I'm not sure whats up with that.. the edges on the chunk look "fuzzy" for lack of better term, but the wort in the bottle is still clear and not hazy.

I'll try and get a pic of it tonight, it might not be the best as it's inside of a 1L green glass bottle - I'll take a pic through the side of it.