Collecting Wild Yeast: Would This Work?

[Dice_Boken]

I had an idea where I would dissolve some table sugar into boiling water, and collect the cooled, sugary water in a large mason jar, then take the mason jar out into the woods (away from critters) to sit a few days. I would then wash whatever I collected and pitch it in the next batch. I would have to do this when there isn't much rain and I'm thinking it might not be the right time of year. The idea is that I would use the sugar water instead of exposing a batch of beer itself. Would this idea even remotely work?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Very cool. There's a whole world of yeast out there waiting to be wrangled.

You're on the right track but I have some tips:

Use starter wort (~1.040), not sugar water. 100g of DME per liter. Yeast nutrient is good too.
Simple sugar is not good for beer starters because the yeast's metabolism gets screwed up.
Consider pre-acidification to 4.0-4.5, to inhibit some of the bacteria.

Cover the jar with cheesecloth to keep out insects.
Creatures like sugary wort, so make sure animals can't get to it.

4-12 hours of fresh air is plenty. It's better if it's on the cold side since there will be less bacteria in the air.
You can also use bits of plant matter and skip leaving it outside.
Brett has trouble floating around, so I'd use some plants if you want Brett in the mix.

Washing yeast is not necessary, and will probably lose some biodiversity, depending on what you want.

Let it ferment for 2-4 weeks, covered loosely or airlocked. Make sure there's no mold (not to be confused with pellicle). Smell and taste. Check attenuation. Step up the culture before pitching.

You can do this with multiple jars to increase the likelihood of getting some great yeast.

Happy wrangling!

 

[cactusgarrett]

All these points! I didn't have a successful collect until I did ALL these things together: DME wort, pre-acidification, overnight, etc.

 

[RPh_Guy]

All these points! I didn't have a successful collect until I did ALL these things together: DME wort, pre-acidification, overnight, etc.

Curious, what went wrong with your unsuccessful attempts?
Did you get mold, only bacteria, foul aroma/flavor, or just no growth?

 

[cactusgarrett]

Curious, what went wrong with your unsuccessful attempts?
Did you get mold, only bacteria, foul aroma/flavor, or just no growth?

Eventual mold, but each subsequent step i compounded took longer and longer for the mold to take hold, so i knew i was headed in the right direction.

 

[TEWNCfarms]

Very cool. There's a whole world of yeast out there waiting to be wrangled.

You're on the right track but I have some tips:

Use starter wort (~1.040), not sugar water. 100g of DME per liter. Yeast nutrient is good too.
Simple sugar is not good for beer starters because the yeast's metabolism gets screwed up.
Consider pre-acidification to 4.0-4.5, to inhibit some of the bacteria.

Cover the jar with cheesecloth to keep out insects.
Creatures like sugary wort, so make sure animals can't get to it.

4-12 hours of fresh air is plenty. It's better if it's on the cold side since there will be less bacteria in the air.
You can also use bits of plant matter and skip leaving it outside.
Brett has trouble floating around, so I'd use some plants if you want Brett in the mix.

Washing yeast is not necessary, and will probably lose some biodiversity, depending on what you want.

Let it ferment for 2-4 weeks, covered loosely or airlocked. Make sure there's no mold (not to be confused with pellicle). Smell and taste. Check attenuation. Step up the culture before pitching.

You can do this with multiple jars to increase the likelihood of getting some great yeast.

Happy wrangling!

And so I’m sorry, but what exactly is DME?

And when you say plants/leaves do you mean sticking the leaves in the jar, or just laying some on top?

Also what do you mean by “step up the culture?”

Again I Really Appreciate all your help! You’ve helped me understand so much, and now I feel like I can actually brew some beer when at first it seemed like pharmaceutical chemistry!

This collecting wild yeast reminds exactly of what I do for farming, collecting native/indigenous microorganisms and breeding mycorrhizae etc, get some rice put out side in the ground, cover it with cloth and leaves, and then mix with brown sugar, then mix it with bran of some sort, then soil and finally spread it out on your field and it makes it look like a forest floor when you pull the leaves back an see all the white spiderwebs. I love stuff like this, thanks for directing me to this thread!

 

[z-bob]

"DME" is dry malt extract. Step-up starter is when you take your baby culture of active yeast and add it to a larger volume of [probably stronger] wort to grow the cell count to something usable.

I've mentioned this in another thread, but it seems relevant here too: When the weather warms up just a bit (I've been out of town for a few weeks; got back just in time for a record cold snap) I'm going to collect some wild buckthorn berries to see what kind of yeast I can grow from them. I will probably use diluted apple juice and yeast nutrient for the initial starter and then step it up using DME once I see some activity. Next summer I will try the same thing using wild raspberries. In either case, the berries have been collecting wild yeast on their surface for weeks; presumably yeast varieties that want to get inside and eat the sugars in the berries. Of course they may have bacteria too...

 

[RPh_Guy]

And when you say plants/leaves do you mean sticking the leaves in the jar, or just laying some on top?

Plants in contact with the starter wort.

 

[TEWNCfarms]

Plants in contact with the starter wort.

Question on collection, so in the farming techniques that I mentioned there’s one that is called LAB and is actually in reference to Lactobacillus. You collect water washed over rice and let it sit for a few days, then you add milk and let that sit for a few more days, and the curds and whey separate and the liquid is your LAB which smells like cheese and you use it as a spray etc.

Could you collect your own Lactobacillus this way, and then collect wild yeasts and bacteria and combine them both to use in a brew?

"DME" is dry malt extract. Step-up starter is when you take your baby culture of active yeast and add it to a larger volume of [probably stronger] wort to grow the cell count to something usable.

I've mentioned this in another thread, but it seems relevant here too: When the weather warms up just a bit (I've been out of town for a few weeks; got back just in time for a record cold snap) I'm going to collect some wild buckthorn berries to see what kind of yeast I can grow from them. I will probably use diluted apple juice and yeast nutrient for the initial starter and then step it up using DME once I see some activity. Next summer I will try the same thing using wild raspberries. In either case, the berries have been collecting wild yeast on their surface for weeks; presumably yeast varieties that want to get inside and eat the sugars in the berries. Of course they may have bacteria too...

Thanks for the explanations.

 

[RPh_Guy]

LAB = Lactic Acid Bacteria (Lacto and Pedio, among many other genera)

LAB are everywhere and there will be LAB in any wild culture you collect using wort.

 

[TEWNCfarms]

LAB = Lactic Acid Bacteria (Lacto and Pedio, among many other genera)

LAB are everywhere and there will be LAB in any wild culture you collect using wort.

Awesome thanks so much! I am stoked!