Yeast Hunting

[Asalpaws]

Seen this on a few US sites, seems to be a bit of a hit and miss afair but thought it might be fun to try. Apparently it's better before it gets too warm to minimize acetobacter and enteric flora.

Boiled a liter of DME and water with some Northen brewer hops. Left it all in the pan, secured a cheese cloth over the top and put it in the garden. Should cool overnight and hopefully pick up some wild yeast + other bugs. Will stick it in a demijohn in the morning. See if it ferments.....

 

[AndyBWood]

Hi,

Any action ? How long do you think you'll have to wait ?

A

 

[Asalpaws]

Put in a DJ, no action yet. At least there were no flies or bird poo in it this am. Sounds like it usually takes about 72 hours to see activity. Probably not surprising as it will be a few cells replicating to billions in that time. T

 

[wilsoa1111]

i saw this aswell, seems like a PITA to me but its a hobby i suppose, never know u might get lucky. i tried my luck with some elderflower champagne once, got a crazy amount of nailvarnish esters off it- adding vinegar according to recipe prob didnt help

 

[Asalpaws]

Totally, could be good or may turn into vinegar but it's just some DME at the end of the day. Important to note most people advise not tasting the starter for at least 3 weeks due to risk of E.coli and other nasty bacteria. T

 

[graysalchemy]

Sounds like a sourdough starter :lol: . With that to begin with you get everything in it then the yeast and lactobacillus takes over, but thats a bread starter not beer :lol: :lol:

 

[rpt]

Talking of sourdough starters, I never understand why people try to catch it from the air or add fruit. There's plenty of yeast in flour - it's all you need. Not sure it's much good for beer though.

 

[graysalchemy]

That is true when I made mine I just used rye flour was bubbling with in a couple of days, I have a great starter now which I have been using for 6-7 months. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Asalpaws]

Must give that a go, really like home made bread.