Hi all , I am reporting back what has happened with my wild yeast capturing.I have stepped twice and now I have 3 liters of starting wort with a nice pelicle that seems to me is the consecuence of brettanomyces yeast fermenting. I am not sure about this , I have no previous experience in this matter cos there is not commercial brett yeast available here in Argentina. It´s been 3 weeks since I posted : http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/unknown-microbes-fermentation.255533/#post-3263762 I have observed a very low rate of bubbles throughout this fermentation with a maximun rate of 1bubble/3 min, I have no idea how much alcohol must be there, I didn´t wash and crash yeast, just went adding more wort. Also I don´t know if brett. ferments slower than sacch, how long would it take to ferment a 1050 wort (using the correct cell count)?.In fact I must tell you I need much more information. HELP !!!! Here some new photos
According to Wild Brews, brett and pediococcus take 100 days to achieve optimal growth in a traditional fermentation. Sacc takes two days. Lactobacillus takes four days. Acetobacter takes 30 days. If your starter wort is just DME and sacc is present, most of the fermentables will be gone after 2-4 days assuming you aren't using the stir bar. If you have sacc, it should have made some foam before the pellicle formed.
Looks like Brett to me. Good job. @Brew-Betty In these initial stages of a starter in a lab vessel I don't think the standard growth rate of a spontaneously inoculated Lambic really apply. He is pitching a much higher initial cell count than Lambic brewers do.
There are going to be a lot of different bugs in your starter. If your goal is to have a Brett starter you're going to need to plate it to isolate the Brett. Brett has a longer lag phase then Sacc so when fermentation is completed you're going to have a much higher cell count of Sacc then you will Brett.
I haven´t got the means nor the knowledge to isolate brett, I just want to brew 5 gals of a lambic beer inoculating something not dangerous for my health. I don´t know how long will it take to this yeast-microbes to finish the fermentation of this 3 liters starter and in case it is finished soon I don´t know how much of a slurry do I need to ferment 5 gals of beer.
I am using the stir plate at a very slow speed just to get yeast in suspension, there is no risk of introducing oxygen cos an airlock is set on.
If it smells good (fruity with a little tartness and funk) and tastes good (same as smell) then you are good to go. With that 3 liter starter you should have more than enough yeast slurry to ferment 5 gallons. Just pitch the bulk of it after crash cooling and decanting it. Don't pitch anything else. Leave it alone for a good 9+ months.
Also check the gravity. There are potentially dangerous bacteria that can be in the young lambic prior to fermentation. After fermentation the pH drop and alcohol will kill anything bad.
Those are all good so far, especially if it leaves you as still be being pleasant. When you say funky, do you mean musty like a basement or attic? or like a barnyard? or hay? or grass? or horse like? or goat like? sweatty? (I'm trying to help with descriptors)
Well, I would say something around barnyard and hay, I guess. Nothing that I could describe precisely. Maybe these perceptions could vary, I hope to the good side. BTW, today all those little white globes have vanished.
Since it doesn't smell like vomit or your butt, you have harvested something that can make a good wild beer!
If you can send me a tiny sample I can isolate whatever is in there and do a genetic analysis. PM me if interested.
