Will add images sometime tomorrow. On Monday evening I said screw it, boiled up some 1.015 gravity dme wort, threw it in some mini Mason jars with some wild holly-leaved barberry that grows in my apartment complex to grow up some yeast. I've shaken them a handful of times but for most of the day I'm not home and they just do their thing. No signs of fermentation yet, but the berry juice has been slowly diffusing into the wort turning it a dark purple. Today is day 2 and I noticed some patches of mold growing in all three jars, but one of them was worse than others. I'm not too worried as the internet says it's just part of the process, but I'd like to see my seran wrap inflating soon, indicating fermentation. Gave them a real nice shake just now to aerate the wort and hopefully drown out the mold growing on the surface a bit, but I'll keep this updated if people are interested.
Apologies, I got sick and forgot that I made this thread, but I've been taking care of my yeasty beasties so no worries! Up until yesterday I was getting a bit worried as I wasn't seeing signs of co2 production. Then yesterday all of a sudden 2 out of 3 of the jars began ballooning and I had to put a pinhole in the top of jar #1 I will be streak plating these in an attempt to isolate wild yeast, and I'm not sure if these will be safe to consume as "beer" as there was mold growing on the surface of all 3 jars at some point. The last jar (not so coincidentally the jar with the lowest fruit to wort ratio) had the most mold amd the seran wrap was sucking in until today and still isn't expanding. Fermentation might take hold, but I think something was consuming a lot of oxygen in there. Jar #1 The jar with the medium number of berries. Took off slower than jar 2, but had a lot less expansion room in the seran wrap slack. The jar with a pinhole. Jar #2 The jar with the most berries, and the one I still have the most hope for. I havent had to put a pinhole in it as I left a lot of room for co2 in this one, and if I get around to plating soon enough I don't think I'll have to. Jar #3 The first jar I made with the least number of berries. I suspect mold took hold before fermentation or yeast reproduction could begin and severely slowed the process. The pressure seems to no longer be negative as of today so perhaps it was just a very slow start and the yeast prevailed after all, or I have sewer gas forming in there... who knows.
I did a similar experiment years ago. Everything I read is black or green mold is an auto-toss, white mold is a wait and see. Two went green/black, one went white and created co2. I repitched and used it in a 1 gallon batch. It fermented bone dry and had an odd vegetal cabbage thing going on. I’ve never had good luck but I hope you do! I’ve always loved the idea of creating a spontaneous wild beer at home.
Finally moved onto my next step today. I hope I didn't wait too long on my yeast, but I got around to agar plating! All three jars were still showing signs of life, putting off co2. The one jar I poked a hole in however had a splotch of mold growing on the plastic wrap, but I haven't seen any mold growing in the "wort" or on the berries now for a few days. The idea of my jars was to grow up enough yeast that I'll have a higher likelihood of isolating a strain of wild brewer's yeast and propagate that in order to pitch. So hopefully I see some cream colored colonies forming on my plates in the next few days and I'll continue my journey from there!
We have colonies forming! Unfortunately I have zero experience in streak plating so I'm not sure why these colonies just formed everywhere or if they are even yeast but it looks like mostly one micro organism with a couple exceptions. Also since I'm not a pro, I did get some bubbles in my agar while creating the plates. Pics in same order as the jar images. Jar #1 The jar with the puncture. Seemingly only cream colored small round colonies with a sheen to them. Jar #2 Most berries and stayed sealed until plating. Again mostly those same small cream colored colonies, but mold is forming near the top. Jar #3 The least berries and stayed sealed until plating. Again mostly those small cream colored colonies, but there is another bone white colony forming near the top of the image. Similar in size if not slightly larger than the rest, it is the only colony that has formed with that appearance. If anybody has any guesses as to if these are actually yeast colonies that would be greatly appreciated. Eventually these will be examined under a microscope.
Nice progress! Inspiring. I wonder if my favorite tree in the yard is harboring any hidden magic. Any updates on your project? I was wondering if you would make several starters, each with a sample from an interesting colony. What did you do?
I have no personal experience as a wild yeast wrangler but I have read that tree bark is a 'good' source for obtaining wild yeast. As to whether those harvested yeast will make 'good' beer? Cheers! P.S. A related story: “Philly Sour Yeast, known for its sour flavor and time-saving brewing qualities, was discovered by a team of University of the Sciences (now St. Joseph's University) researchers about six years ago. As part of a brewing science program, a student found the yeast by scraping the bark of a dogwood tree in West Philadelphia’s Woodland Cemetery and then University of the Sciences professor Matt Farber isolated it in a university lab.” https://www.phillyvoice.com/beer-pennsylvania-pride-fruited-sour-brewery-philly-pa/
Growth looked to be contamination as there were no streaks growing, but just scattered shiny colonies. Next time I try this I will be using chloramphenicol, an antibiotic, in the growth medium, as well as using fresher agar powder instead of older agar that already came as a gel that was difficult to dissolve. I am still excited to try this out, but this round I think something went wrong while transferring from jars to dishes, and here in Colorado everything is just a bit too cold, so fruits, flowers, and wild yeast are mostly dormant until spring.
