# Wild Yeast



## wombil (25/2/12)

G'day All,
I have made a double batch of DR. Smurtos Golden Ale.Put half into a cube,sealed, that's still sitting on the shed floor for two days,this lot is ok.
The rest I put into a fermenter,no chill,with gladwrap seal ,left overnight and all day to cool down. 
When I go to put the yeast in it has a really frothy head 20/30 mm thick.Not like an ordinary krausen,more like a head on a glass of beer.{pic.}.
Could this be wild yeast starting to ferment?There is quite a lot of headspace in the FV.
My thinking to remedy this and save the beer is to boil it again and start fermenting as usual.
Will this work or should I do something else?
Thanks Guys.


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## raven19 (25/2/12)

Smell? Taste?

If you catch it early enough another boil will kill off the nasties (assuming that is what is happening in this case...)


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## goomboogo (25/2/12)

Tip it.


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## jyo (25/2/12)

For it to start such a vigorous fermentation in that amount of time, there must have been a heap of yeast (all be it 'wild' ) in there, surely?

Have you tasted it? 

I think it was Deebo who had some success with wild yeast fermentation...


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## wombil (25/2/12)

Doesn't smell or taste too bad.Definatlely not rotten or bad.


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## manticle (25/2/12)

Would you drink it? You can re-boil or you could see what the wild yeast in your area is like or you could help it along with brettanomyces.

Or you could tip it and start again.

Depends on what you want really. Successful no chill depends on eliminating air from the vessel while it cools down which I can't imagine you can do well in a fermenter.

Buy another cube. Use the method as designed.


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## wombil (25/2/12)

Had some spent grain in a bucket close by.That might have started it off.


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## brucearnold (25/2/12)

wombil said:


> Doesn't smell or taste too bad.Definatlely not rotten or bad.



There is no harm keeping it and seeing how it ferments out and tastes at the end. That is if you have the room for it.


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## RdeVjun (25/2/12)

manticle said:


> Successful no chill depends on eliminating air from the vessel while it cools down which I can't imagine you can do well in a fermenter.


No, I don't agree- air in a sealed cube is of no real consequence, what is important is pasteurisation of the entire surface and maneuvering a fermenter to pasteurise all of it effectively is likely to be problematic. However, a completely full cube with all air excluded means that its far simpler to ensure the entire surface is pasteurized and it will successfully store.

wombil, I know of other brewers who do a no- chill style cooling in their fermenter, I've not done it myself but hopefully they can provide some tips on how to do it. I'd say this batch is probably knackered though, unless you happen like experiments! :icon_cheers:


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## manticle (25/2/12)

Every cube infection I've ever had has been due to a leaking/non sealing cube.

I'm sure people successfully no-chill in their fermenters but I reckon it's an added risk. The method is so simple and works as it is designed to that I'm not sure why people keep trying to 'improve' it.


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## bradsbrew (25/2/12)

I have no chilled in a fermenter more times than I can remember. Never had an infection or had it take off like that with that method. Its amazing how well the glad wrap will seal with rubber bands at that temp.


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## manticle (25/2/12)

If people report success then I'm not one to cuss out a method I haven't tried but it seems to me the likely culprit.

Maybe you just need to clean/sanitise your fermenter better wombil?


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## bradsbrew (25/2/12)

How good was your glad wrap seal wombil?


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## wombil (25/2/12)

Ya could be right mate altho it was rinsed out with starsan and left to drain 10 minutes before filling.I only got it half full by the way.


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## wombil (25/2/12)

Gladwrap seemed ok Brad.


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## brucearnold (25/2/12)

wombil said:


> Ya could be right mate altho it was rinsed out with starsan and left to drain 10 minutes before filling.I only got it half full by the way.



How old was the starsan mix (a cause of infections for me in the past)? Have you pulled apart and cleaned, or replaced the fermenter tap lately?


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## Nick JD (25/2/12)

$50 says it's "infected" with whatever you had in there last.


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## Wolfy (25/2/12)

Nick JD said:


> $50 says it's "infected" with whatever you had in there last.


^ what he said, IMHO that ferment looks too healthy, normal and active to be a simple accidental 'wild' yeast (especially since it looks/tastes/smells 'not bad').


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## Nick JD (25/2/12)

It is quite incredible for a tiny pitch to be that active in less that 24 hours though. Wasn't a hefeweizen in there last by any chance?


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## Rowy (25/2/12)

You silly old bugger Oigle! I'm going to have to get down there and show you how its done


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## Jace89 (25/2/12)

You have to let it ferment out if you ask me.
I recently pitched the wrong yeast (must of marked one of my slants wrong), long story short I fermented a amber ale with Hefeweizen yeast....tastes fairly good.
If its tasting alright now let it finish and drink up!


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## wombil (25/2/12)

Howdy rowy,
I'm not sure what was in there last ,either an irish red or golden ale,maybe one of nick jds recipes for 30 bucks.
I make a lot of it,my favourite.
Yes it really took off.
Just tipped it into the boiler to cook again and the slurry on the bottom looked like a normal yeast residue.After an hour or so it went bubbly and muddy like I think a mud geyser looks.
See what happens from here hey.


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## Rowy (25/2/12)

wombil said:


> Howdy rowy,
> I'm not sure what was in there last ,either an irish red or golden ale,maybe one of nick jds recipes for 30 bucks.
> I make a lot of it,my favourite.
> Yes it really took off.
> ...




Was that the same fermenter Oigs that you had trouble with that other brew?


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## MaltyHops (25/2/12)

wombil said:


> Ya could be right mate altho it was rinsed out with starsan and left to drain 10 minutes before
> filling.I only got it half full by the way.


But how did you clean the fermenter (assuming it is one in good condition) before the starsan?

The view on the web seems to be that starsan does not always kill yeast 100% so if the
fermenter wasn't properly cleaned, there could have been clumps of yeast around
(e.g. hiding in the tap thread) that allowed some to survive the starsan.


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## Jace89 (25/2/12)

Did you check the gravity of the beer before you boiled it?


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## wombil (25/2/12)

Not sure rowy,got 2 of em,both look the same.Different problem altogether tho.
Jace,gave it a good scrub out,hole ,tap and all.Sanitised with bleach vinegar mix,rinsed and flooded with starsan mixed on the day.
Not sure who asked but S.G. was 1.045.
See how we go.
Be nice to know the survival rate from drinking crook piss.


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## Rowy (25/2/12)

wombil said:


> Not sure rowy,got 2 of em,both look the same.Different problem altogether tho.
> Jace,gave it a good scrub out,hole ,tap and all.Sanitised with bleach vinegar mix,rinsed and flooded with starsan mixed on the day.
> Not sure who asked but S.G. was 1.045.
> See how we go.
> Be nice to know the survival rate from drinking crook piss.




It'd take more than a bit of crook piss to knock you over Oigs you old bugger.


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## goomboogo (26/2/12)

MaltyHops said:


> But how did you clean the fermenter (assuming it is one in good condition) before the starsan?
> 
> The view on the web seems to be that starsan does not always kill yeast 100% so if the
> fermenter wasn't properly cleaned, there could have been clumps of yeast around
> (e.g. hiding in the tap thread) that allowed some to survive the starsan.



Although, as Nick said, if it's brewing yeast from the previous brew, that's an incredible kick-off for such a small amount of brewing yeast in the stated time period.


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## MaltyHops (26/2/12)

goomboogo said:


> Although, as Nick said, if it's brewing yeast from the previous brew, that's an
> incredible kick-off for such a small amount of brewing yeast in the stated time
> period.


That would also be the case for a wild yeast, wouldn't it? OP stated the wort
was added to fermenter as nochill so would have started at high temp and then
cooled down through a temp that might give any yeast that survived the cleaning
regime (which sounds quite extensive) or wild yeast an incredible kick-off. Actually,
the initial high temps ought to have cooked any yeast that was in the fermenter
so maybe wild yeast is more likely.


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## stux (26/2/12)

Wolfy said:


> ^ what he said, IMHO that ferment looks too healthy, normal and active to be a simple accidental 'wild' yeast (especially since it looks/tastes/smells 'not bad').



Looks like a beer yeast infection to me

The most common "wild yeast" in your brewery is going to be brewers yeast anyway.


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## the_new_darren (26/2/12)

wombil said:


> Just tipped it into the boiler to cook again and the slurry on the bottom looked like a normal yeast residue.
> See what happens from here hey.



Mmmmm Vegemite beer


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## dkaos (26/2/12)

I have only tossed one batch of beer in about 2 years. Have had a few suspects, but they all turned out fine. I have always been stoked when they were fine when just a few weeks earlier I was considering tossing them. I would probably put another brew down just in case this turns out bad.


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