Culturing wild yeast....

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Depends on what you mean by "bad bacteria". Are you worried about Pedio or your beer getting sick and shampoo like? Because that could easily happen. I don't typically mind as I will let the beer ride out.

I do not live in a great area for sitting out a thing of wort and capturing a culture. What I have done in the past with great results is taken fresh fruit from friends who live out in the country and cultured the yeast and bacteria off of that. I think the key components are; not aerate the wort, that will just invite acetobacter in early. Start with a low wort, I use 1.030. Step up fairly frequently.

I do a 250ml starter, then add another 250ml (remove fruit if cultivating from that) at about day 3. Then after a week I add another 250ml. I want an acidic base and some alcohol to form to ward off mold and other nasty ****. I then let that go for a while (maybe too long because I am lazy and forgetful) then cold crash it, and build another 500ml starter at about 1.035-1.040 and let that go for a long while, or until ready to use in a beer, which depending on the age I may do another starter.
 
Depends on what you mean by "bad bacteria". Are you worried about Pedio or your beer getting sick and shampoo like? Because that could easily happen. I don't typically mind as I will let the beer ride out.

I do not live in a great area for sitting out a thing of wort and capturing a culture. What I have done in the past with great results is taken fresh fruit from friends who live out in the country and cultured the yeast and bacteria off of that. I think the key components are; not aerate the wort, that will just invite acetobacter in early. Start with a low wort, I use 1.030. Step up fairly frequently.

I do a 250ml starter, then add another 250ml (remove fruit if cultivating from that) at about day 3. Then after a week I add another 250ml. I want an acidic base and some alcohol to form to ward off mold and other nasty ****. I then let that go for a while (maybe too long because I am lazy and forgetful) then cold crash it, and build another 500ml starter at about 1.035-1.040 and let that go for a long while, or until ready to use in a beer, which depending on the age I may do another starter.

thanks for the reply!

nah. not worried about about pedio. i meant to say mold (or any other nasties).
i want to learn how to identify the strains of yeast cultured...but i know that will take some time to learn.
my idea is to chip off some bark from the pecan tree in front of my crib and some jasmine flowers alongside the gate to see if i can find something nice.
 
thanks for the reply!

nah. not worried about about pedio. i meant to say mold (or any other nasties).
i want to learn how to identify the strains of yeast cultured...but i know that will take some time to learn.
my idea is to chip off some bark from the pecan tree in front of my crib and some jasmine flowers alongside the gate to see if i can find something nice.


I say go for it. To keep mold out I have found a low OG wort and frequent wort additions help. Also take the source out once you are ready for the second addition. I would suspect that with bark and flowers, the odds of getting mold are pretty slim.

I got mold once but that is because I am a *******. I was cultivating off of pomegranates. The shell on the pom had already burst open, I used a ~1.040 starter, and let it sit for over a month. It was very noticeable that there was mold (blue/green growth). The bacteria also grew a thick layer similar to what I have seen kombucha SCOBY look like.
 
I say go for it. To keep mold out I have found a low OG wort and frequent wort additions help. Also take the source out once you are ready for the second addition. I would suspect that with bark and flowers, the odds of getting mold are pretty slim.

I got mold once but that is because I am a *******. I was cultivating off of pomegranates. The shell on the pom had already burst open, I used a ~1.040 starter, and let it sit for over a month. It was very noticeable that there was mold (blue/green growth). The bacteria also grew a thick layer similar to what I have seen kombucha SCOBY look like.

YIKES!

and thanks again for the pointers! i think i'll give it a go this weekend!
 
YIKES!

and thanks again for the pointers! i think i'll give it a go this weekend!


Tell me about it. It looked nearly exactly like the picture below, just with mold on top

62208_full.jpg


Needless to say, I dumped it down the drain.


Good luck. Glad this thread was started, it reminded me I need to get brewing some batches with the cultures I have... only if I could find time to brew.
 
sLPzAjW.jpg


Dropped a couple of gooseberries from my backyard into some 1.030 wort. Definitely growing something. I stepped it up to 500ml and it grew with a really clean aroma at first that turns into THP or isovaleric acid after about day 3. Decanted the 500ml and the gravity hadn't changed but there was definitely some CO2 that came out of solution when I poured it into the hydrometer tube. Not sure what I am going to do with it at this point. I tasted the hydrometer sample and there wasn't much going on but there was definitely something that multiplied at the bottom of the starter.
 
did anyone make the attempt to culture wild yeast since this thread was made?
i haven't tried it yet..and honestly forgot about it.
i will wait until the weather dries up before chipping bark off the pecan tree.

sLPzAjW.jpg


Dropped a couple of gooseberries from my backyard into some 1.030 wort. Definitely growing something. I stepped it up to 500ml and it grew with a really clean aroma at first that turns into THP or isovaleric acid after about day 3. Decanted the 500ml and the gravity hadn't changed but there was definitely some CO2 that came out of solution when I poured it into the hydrometer tube. Not sure what I am going to do with it at this point. I tasted the hydrometer sample and there wasn't much going on but there was definitely something that multiplied at the bottom of the starter.

any updates?
 
This could be a low-tech solution. Try starters in various spots with muslin bag wrapped tight over the container to keep bugs out.

Then wait to see if you get action. If it smells good, grow it up a few times. If it still smells good then pitch it. This way you don't have to risk a whole batch of wort to chance.
 
This could be a low-tech solution. Try starters in various spots with muslin bag wrapped tight over the container to keep bugs out.

This is a fantastic idea.

Then wait to see if you get action. If it smells good, grow it up a few times. If it still smells good then pitch it. This way you don't have to risk a whole batch of wort to chance.

A good recommendation is to pre-acidify the wort, if you can. That will stave off most enteric bacteria. Getting the starter into an anaerobic environment as quickly as possible is another good practice, as most mold species are aerobic in nature.

All that said, signs of active fermentation and a drop in pH are the only true ways to make sure that your starter is OK, but smell is also a good way to evaluate it. Obviously if you have green or fuzzy stuff on top of your starter, you should feel free to feed it to your lawn.
 
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