# Starter... event?



## slcmorro (16/1/14)

Hey,

I recently collected the tail of my last AG brew, a Honey Red Ale to use as a starter. It's been sitting in a pop top Powerade bottle on the kitchen floor in 35-40c heat, so it was most definitely *not* stored in ideal conditions. I treated it just like a cube and filled it right to the brim, squeezed and capped it, and left it to it's own devices. 

I came back to check it today, and it's rock hard. It's been fermenting while sitting on the floor. I think. There was little chance (not impossible I know) that wild yeast got into it, because there wasn't a long exposure period (just when I was chilling and dumping into the fermenter) but I'm presuming that was it. It had a krausen and had built up CO2. Needless to say, I've turfed it. 

Similar experiences? Alternate explanations?


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## GalBrew (16/1/14)

I would guess that the pop top has allowed in some air + wild yeast. I wouldn't think that the pop top could create an adequate seal for 'cubing'


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## manticle (16/1/14)

Wort moved from 100 degrees over a period of time, possibly uncovered, to whatever your pitching temp is (which means some time spent at a range that favours microbiological activity), then was transferred to a plastic bottle with a lid that is not a great seal, then sat at temperatures which favour further microbiological activity quite strongly.

Either that or your totally sterile wort, sealed in a sterile container somehow independently developed its own micro-organism capable of fermentation.

Very simply your wort and/or your container contained enough cells of some kind of organism or the container sucked in enough air containing a micro-organism capable of fermentation and the wort started fermenting.

Did you smell the starter before turfing?


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## Ducatiboy stu (16/1/14)

There was no need to turf it. Yeast will work upto 45*c. The higher the temp the faster it works, prob would have had some funky flavours but it would have been fine. By brewing it under 18*c we are actually slowing it down.


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## manticle (16/1/14)

There was no yeast deliberately added to it though stu - at least that's what I read. It was just chilled starter wort in a plastic bottle that started fermenting with god knows what.


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## slcmorro (16/1/14)

I smelled is as I was tipping it down the sink. Smelled ok, but I really wasn't ready to use it as a starter anytime soon anyways so I figured it'd be best to boot it.


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## Ducatiboy stu (16/1/14)

Yeah...just re-read it....got distracted by fighting kids.

Maybe the higher temp was allowing the yeast to chew thru the remaining sugars in the beer.


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## slcmorro (16/1/14)

Stu, I think you're still misreading it mate.

I didn't add any yeast to it. It was just some wort I was trying to store to use as a starter later on


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## AndrewQLD (16/1/14)

If your storing small samples of wort to use as a starter and the ambient temps are high can you store in the fridge, just as a precaution?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mr. No-Tip (16/1/14)

You just turfed your #1 nats winning specialty beer.


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## slcmorro (16/1/14)

Mr. No-Tip said:


> You just turfed your #1 nats winning specialty beer.


Noooooooooooooo! Haha.


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## fletcher (16/1/14)

if it didn't smell bad then you might have been able to culture your own independent yeast!


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## Midnight Brew (16/1/14)

fletcher said:


> if it didn't smell bad then you might have been able to culture your own independent yeast!


Always been tempted to leave out some jars of wort and let them ferment out and see whats becomes of them. It would be nice to call a strain other then coopers Australian.


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## pk.sax (17/1/14)

Spontaneous fermented cyser is quite nice


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## Ducatiboy stu (17/1/14)

slcmorro said:


> Stu, I think you're still misreading it mate.
> 
> I didn't add any yeast to it. It was just some wort I was trying to store to use as a starter later on


In that case NFI


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## Yob (17/1/14)

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/51830-infection-photo-thread/?p=1125836

it happens.. incidentally, a third 500ml flask which was boiled a second time the next day sat in the same spot with no issue...


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