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Growing me some bugs!

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mccann51 said:
(please, anybody, how do I format hyperlinks?).
Click to expand...

I totally forgot about this! There is a little button on the top of the "reply box" that looks like the Earth with a paperclip near the bottom. If you click that, it prompts you for the URL, and then will create a hyperlink with the part people will see already highlighted to change to whatever you want the link to say (ie, bold "this link", or what have you).

Hope that helps. :)
 
mccann51 said:
Could I just pitch in the dregs or are they gonna get outcompeted by the established beasties? My impression is the bacteria and Brett kinda remain dormant anyway, so it doesn't seem like this would be an issue. I don't have any room in the carboy for much of a starter (perhaps I could fit 12oz of fluid if it's highly recommended).
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It depends on the OG/SG. If you already have a pretty high %ABV, it's unlikely the bottle dregs will do very much on their own. If 12oz is all you have to work with, you could make a starter with 12oz and the bottle dregs, wait 4-5 days and then feed a bit from the carboy every few days until it is accustomed to the higher alcohol. The whole mess can then be returned to the carboy with hopefully a much higher population of bugs than you would get just from the dregs.
 
elowe said:
It depends on the OG/SG. If you already have a pretty high %ABV, it's unlikely the bottle dregs will do very much on their own. If 12oz is all you have to work with, you could make a starter with 12oz and the bottle dregs, wait 4-5 days and then feed a bit from the carboy every few days until it is accustomed to the higher alcohol. The whole mess can then be returned to the carboy with hopefully a much higher population of bugs than you would get just from the dregs.
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Good point. That is why I've opted for making a "starter".

On a side note, I just discovered that Liefmans and Lindemans are both pasteurized before being sold. :( I still plan to pitch the dregs of the bottles I have from them, since I've heard Brett can be pretty resilient, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

The De Proef Zoetzuur was delicious, and had a good sized cake on the bottom of the bottle. I even had some Brett (little white flakes...I think it was Brett ;)) floating in my glass.

Sanctification was also added yesterday. I have to say, I've never seen such a weird beer in the glass! The carbonation bubbles were much larger than normal, and behaved differently than I have ever seen. Basically, as the bubbles rose, they formed a film of bubbles on the surface. Not like normal "head", did not dissipate or break apart after swirling. After the film formed, I could sit and watch new bubbles rise up and get caught underneath it. It was very cool to look at. :)

The mother culture is now visibly fermenting/bubbling on the surface. I plan to move this into the New Belgium/Allagash Vrienden 22oz soon, for two reasons. First, I've read all of the Lips of Faith series from NB have been pasteurized, so if there is anything left, I don't want to risk loosing it to the sides of the bottle when adding it's dregs. And second, I am running out of room for more additions into the Cuvee de Tomme bottle. ;)
 
YogiBearMead726 said:
On a side note, I just discovered that Liefmans and Lindemans are both pasteurized before being sold. :( I still plan to pitch the dregs of the bottles I have from them, since I've heard Brett can be pretty resilient, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.
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Yep. Rodenbach too. :(

The mother culture is now visibly fermenting/bubbling on the surface. I plan to move this into the New Belgium/Allagash Vrienden 22oz soon, for two reasons. First, I've read all of the Lips of Faith series from NB have been pasteurized, so if there is anything left, I don't want to risk loosing it to the sides of the bottle when adding it's dregs. And second, I am running out of room for more additions into the Cuvee de Tomme bottle. ;)
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I don't know if you will get any usable yeast out of the Vrienden, I have only had it on draft. If not, the Allagash beers (if you can get them) are definitely bottle conditioned, so you can get their brett strain from one of those.

The Lips of Faith 22oz beers aren't pasteurized, they are sterile filtered. I heard through the rumor mill that NB will be re-introducing the 750mL bottle conditioned La Folie... I can't wait!
 
Well, the stars seems to be aligning in terms of getting my first lambic going. I discovered while going to rack my Marris Otter/Fuggle SMaSH that there was a nice little pellicle forming on the top of it. :o Well, I tasted the hydrometer sample and it was a very smooth acidity (assuming it was lactic acid), so I plan to let this properly sour and form a pellicle in secondary.

So, to try and save the plastic bucket this was is, I soaked it full of water and 10 tablets. If this doesn't save the bucket, I now have a dedicated sour bucket.

All in all, I'm pretty excited to try a turbid mash, and more improtantly, to make a sour mead. :)
 
So, how about storing bugs for future use? Other than just moving the used oak cubes from batch to batch, is there a way to store them for longer term use, perhaps in the fridge? Would I want to put them in a starter-like setup, with a bit of sugar, or should I just toss em in the fridge in a ziplock?
 
YogiBearMead726 said:
... I've read all of the Lips of Faith series from NB have been pasteurized...
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Major Bummer.

Any idea what your source and accuracy is on this, Yogi?

I'm trying to establish a starter yeast from a "good ale" in hopes of making a batch of Moses Cook 1717. Paid an afternoon visit to the Marion Street Cheese Market ale sommelier. We had a lengthy chat about ales that may have active yeast. He recommended a Belgian style...described a bunch of them...I'm considering a dark ale as I will probably use a dark wildflower honey from myhoneyco.com ...listening to all his descriptions I settled on the prune/clove Dunkel Weiss from Lips of Faith! It seemed like the best fit for what I want to do...

So the possibility that it's been pasteurized is a disappointment...
 
mccann51 said:
The whole Lips of Faith series is pasteurized, with the exception of the corked La Folie.
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I'll expand on that by saying La Folie is a soured beer. If you don't want yours to be sour too, stay away from the lees in La Folie. (On the other hand I highly recommend trying it, very tasty.)
 
Nothing's cookin' in the Lips of Faith starter. As expected.
Will try Ommegang Abby Ale next.
That should be a Spiritual Experience!
 
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