Collecting Culture from My Cats

[Barley_Bob]

So a few weeks ago I decided to see if I could get a yeast/bacteria culture started from my cats (Aerolite and Luna). I was inspired by a few beer blog articles about spontaneous fermentation and wanted to give it a try.

In your defense, where do we all think the yeast in a spontaneous fermentation comes from? The crap that lands in the wort is coming from somewhere, and plenty of it could be animal borne (and from more disgusting animals than cats).

This still has a serious ick factor, though.

 

[TheCADJockey]

(and from more disgusting animals than cats).

No such thing.

 

[TAK]

Why stop there? I say pitch the whole cat.

The worst thing you can do to a cat beer is over-pitch the cat. Go to mrmalty.com, enter your cat's birthday to determine the percentage viability of your cat, and calculate the proper amount of cat to pitch. Hopefully you've been keeping your cat in the refrigerator, the viability calculated makes that assumption.


In all seriousness though, I'm interested in your results, well, it'll be interesting if it turns out. I'd say though, for this to really have a shot at turning out, you should plate it out, isolate colonies, build up from individual colonies, and see if any make a decent beer.

 

[nthammer]

 

[burninator]

In your defense, where do we all think the yeast in a spontaneous fermentation comes from? The crap that lands in the wort is coming from somewhere, and plenty of it could be animal borne (and from more disgusting animals than cats).

This still has a serious ick factor, though.

For the record, nobody is saying cats are disgusting. Evil, yes, but not necessarily disgusting.

 

[sudbuddy]

For the record, nobody is saying cats are disgusting. Evil, yes, but not necessarily disgusting.

No? Then I'm saying it now. Cats are DISGUSTING, absolutely floccin gross! But I'm a dog person so I guess I'm biased

 

[Barley_Bob]

For the record, nobody is saying cats are disgusting. Evil, yes, but not necessarily disgusting.

I don't like cats, and they are fairly disgusting. I thought about getting a cat once, but I just started pooping in a box instead. But dogs are disgusting too, and I generally like them. I would be equally disturbed if the OP were culturing yeast and bacteria off of a dog.

There are more disgusting animals. Chickens, raccoons, opossums, rats, and cockroaches leap immediately to mind.

If the OP were petting the slime off the back of a New York City rat and using it to ferment wort, we would be crossing a whole extra line of nasty.

 

[JonM]

Leo Lambic?
Funky Felis Flanders?

Aerolite's Alliterative Amber Ale?

 

[stratslinger]

Wow.

Just wow.

Also: I'm morbidly tempted to go and try this with my three cats. I'm sure that'll end well.

Also: for the record, as the owner of 3 cats, I feel I can speak as an authority on this: I agree, cats can be (and very often are) absolutely disgusting.

 

[burninator]

I stand corrected.

 

[Oldskooler]

I'm just gonna subscribe to this thread. Not sure why, but I am

I'm in for the same reason. I must say this thread is the funniest damn thing I have read in a loooong time.

 

[MaxStout]

Leo Lambic?
Funky Felis Flanders?

Aerolite's Alliterative Amber Ale?

Get Yer Dander Up

Silvestris Sour

Imperial Hairball

Hair Of The Cat

 

[stratslinger]

How about these:

Whiskers Whit

Feline Flanders

Litterbox Lager

 

[sweetcell]

More Than a Feline (or I'm Feline Fine, or I'm Not Feline It, etc.)

Flea Poop Sour

 

[MaxStout]

Alleycat Ale

Katzenjammer Kolsch

 

[SnakeRidge]

I'm in for the same reason. I must say this thread is the funniest damn thing I have read in a loooong time.

I like your avatar, it's like he's saying "Cat Beer? In my day we drank beer and ate cats and left it at that! No sir, I don't like it!"

 

[sudbuddy]

There are more disgusting animals. Chickens, raccoons, opossums, rats, and cockroaches leap immediately to mind.

You have animal sized cockroaches where you are from?! Yikes!

 

[ba-brewer]

Probably don't want to over do it with too much catty type hops or it might mask the flavors of the yeast.

Just telling people you made beer from a ball of cat hair might help keep them from nosing around too deep in the beer fridge. Could also use it as an indicator when to cut people off. Anyone answering yes to the question "You want to try a beer I made from cat hair?" probably has had too much to drink already.

 

[ong]

I'd try a glass! Fermentation is sort of an inherently grubby practice. And it's not like he's "dry furring" the beers or anything.

 

[yourmama]

Reading up on wasps / hornets and their role in wild yeast. It would be better to mine for yeast out of their guts instead of wrangling your cat dander

 

[SnakeRidge]

Reading up on wasps / hornets and their role in wild yeast. It would be better to mine for yeast out of their guts instead of wrangling your cat dander

You want to milk a hornet?

 

[JINKS]

Dagnabit I'm subscribing, gotta see if this ends in a CATastrophe.

 

[1977Brewer]

Dagnabit I'm subscribing, gotta see if this ends in a CATastrophe.

I'm in just to keep Tabbies.

 

[Aerolite]

Thanks for subscribing! I'm looking forward to what will come out of all this. My stomach does turn a little when I think of the culture source, but my fiance has a cast-iron stomach. She volunteers for the first sniffs and tastes of all the steps.

So far. The smell is bready (yeasty), funky, and slightly lactic. Smells oddly good and sweet. I'm guessing the sweet smell will dwindly as fermentation completes.

I'll be sure to post an update in a week or so when the swimmers settle out and I crash it before collecting the culture. The question for now is how many test propagations I do before I attempt a temperature controlled, drinkable batch.

 

[Aerolite]

This needs an article - a well written article, properly punctuated, and grammatically correct article.


...with pictures of course......

I would love to put something like this together. Unfortunately, I have little time to do this and lack experience in writing fetching articles.

If anyone wants to help - I'd gladly collaborate on a more detailed and visually appealing write-up.

 

[Auger]

edit: hah wrong thread.

interesting idea though.

 

[DNKDUKE]

I would love to put something like this together. Unfortunately, I have little time to do this and lack experience in writing fetching articles.

If anyone wants to help - I'd gladly collaborate on a more detailed and visually appealing write-up.

That's OK...I wasn't serious...
The comment was meant for those following another post....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=6852111#post6852111

 

[stratslinger]

<cringe>

There's brewer's yeast - that, you know, you brew with.

And then there's that.

Don't do that. For the love of all that's holy, just don't.

Edit: sorry, this was in response to Auger's post. Yuck.

 

[PlexVector]

Dagnabit I'm subscribing, gotta see if this ends in a CATastrophe.

I'm in just to keep Tabbies.

I'm just going to wait till the end and then read the whole kittencoboodle at once.

 

[ba-brewer]

Thanks for subscribing! I'm looking forward to what will come out of all this. My stomach does turn a little when I think of the culture source, but my fiance has a cast-iron stomach. She volunteers for the first sniffs and tastes of all the steps.

So far. The smell is bready (yeasty), funky, and slightly lactic. Smells oddly good and sweet. I'm guessing the sweet smell will dwindly as fermentation completes.

I'll be sure to post an update in a week or so when the swimmers settle out and I crash it before collecting the culture. The question for now is how many test propagations I do before I attempt a temperature controlled, drinkable batch.

Glad to see all of the jokes have not deterred your project. Cant really comment on how many times to propagate the culture, but I would say enough times so that you would be willing to take the first drink.

If you dont think you could drink it then maybe leave out some wort in your house to see if you can get a spontaneous ferment without direct cat involvement. I would guess the results would be similar. It might makes sense to do it anyway as a control to see if the cats do add anything that dont already exist in house.

http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2011/04/ambient-spontaneous-yeast-starters.html

If you are looking to promote the yeast and not the bacteria from your cats spit it seems like keeping your starter cooler might do that. Maybe more frequent feeding would promote the yeast too, I know that works for sour dough bread to make it less sour.

 

[Brauer]

Call it "Cats got your tongue" and while your at it, use cat nip instead of hops in the boil.
Cats are disgusting! &#128572;

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I think your results will be cat-a-strophic.

 

[kev211]

This is disgusting. So Im subscribing cuz I really want to see how it turns out...

 

[ukaH]

sub'd.

 

[drainbamage]

Call it "Cats got your tongue" and while your at it, use cat nip instead of hops in the boil.
Cats are disgusting! &#128572;

Don't do that! Then the cat will drink it all...or knock the glass over and roll in it.

 

[foodplusbeer]

I'd drink some Cat-a-tonic

 

[kev211]

Don't do that! Then the cat will drink it all...or knock the glass over and roll in it.

Ya, but if the cat rolls in it he may get some secondary fermentation action...

 

[FiddlersGreen87]

For your next project you can culture Deez!

This is your future. I know this has nothing to do with huffing cat piss, but for the life of me I couldn't get this image out of my head. Thank you for ensuring no more work will get done today.

 

[bobojuice]

Stop doing this.

 

[MaxStout]