41 replies to this topic

[Mynameisluka]

well, i do know why this intrigues me so much. i think it would be interesting to get something as close to the original wild yeast as possible and tinker with it.

[Deerslyr]

well, i do know why this intrigues me so much. i think it would be interesting to get something as close to the original wild yeast as possible and tinker with it.

If you have a lot of time on your hands... I've got to think that taking a wild strain and cultivating it into something that would be drinkable will take a long time. We had a discussion about a month or so ago about leaving hydro samples out and the spontaneous fermentation that takes place.

[Mynameisluka]

I think originally it was bakers yeast first and then someone figured out you could make some totally awesome barely porridge out of it and get a little bit tipsy

i thought back in the day that they didn't know what yeast was, so there was no bakers yeast or brewers yeast. i thought it was simply airborne spores that caused their baked goods to rise.

[lowendfrequency]

I've heard that ancient brewers of gruit and other historical styles of beer/alcohol used to throw bunches of lightly crushed and fermenting grapes into their unfermented wort. Grapes will grow/collect naturally occurring wild yeast on their skin (the white film, called "flor"), specifically saccharomyces and brettanomyces. First yeast starter ever?

[Mynameisluka]

"I've heard that ancient brewers of gruit and other historical styles of beer/alcohol used to throw bunches of lightly crushed and fermenting grapes into their unfermented wort. Grapes will grow/collect naturally occurring wild yeast on their skin (the white film, called "flor"), specifically saccharomyces and brettanomyces. First yeast starter ever?"i have always figured it was something like that. that would make sense. a lot of sense. especially considering that some evidence indicates that grape based wine was one of the earliest known forms of fermentation (about 7k years ago). it would make sense that somebody put 2 and 2 together and realized that the grapes contained pretty much all of the necessary ingredients, even though they didn't necessarily know exactly what the ingredients were.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

i thought back in the day that they didn't know what yeast was, so there was no bakers yeast or brewers yeast. i thought it was simply airborne spores that caused their baked goods to rise.

they didn't - but they were making the proto-beer in the same room as the bread and using some of the bread to inoculate it (I think - don't hold me to that).maybe this will help: wiki wiki

[Mynameisluka]

I've got to think that taking a wild strain and cultivating it into something that would be drinkable will take a long time.

if it was truly an undrinkable wild straing that was the origin, i would agree. but, i'm thinking the natural strain is drinkable, at least to some degree. i don't know if it's something i would ever really experiment with a whole heck of a lot because you are probably right that it would take waaaaayyy too long to actually cultivate it into something worth brewing. but, it would be interesting to try to create at least a small batch of something as close to the original as possible.

[SchwanzBrewer]

The question definitely is a brewing question, but some of the postings are off course and not relevant to brewing.

I followed it up with an actual answer though. My bad for making a funny.Cheers,Rich

[SchwanzBrewer]

There was a guy that brewed with some ANCIENT yeast he cultivated from a bug in some amber. I think that is going back a bit further that you wanted though.Cheers,Rich

[Mynameisluka]

There was a guy that brewed with some ANCIENT yeast he cultivated from a bug in some amber. I think that is going back a bit further that you wanted though.Cheers,Rich

lol...huh?

[SchwanzBrewer]

lol...huh?

Yeastie pooCheers,Rich

[Mynameisluka]

Yeastie pooCheers,Rich

oh yeah, i've heard about that. that's hardcore.

[MtnBrewer]

I've got to think that taking a wild strain and cultivating it into something that would be drinkable will take a long time.

I don't think there's any cultivating to it. You find the wild strain, isolate it and then it either does something that you like or it doesn't.

[Deerslyr]

I don't think there's any cultivating to it. You find the wild strain, isolate it and then it either does something that you like or it doesn't.

Maybe its more of a "isolating a strain that isn't offensive to the palate". Now that could take some time.

[DaBearSox]

Like said before in the ancient times no one really knew about the yeast, they just knew that letting it sit for awhile (and maybe a little shaman dance) would make this wonderful substance that altered your state of mind. It it said that the first beer was probably palm sap that got fermented by wild yeast and someone came along and licked it up. The source of the yeast would be different in different areas. Up in Scandinavia it could have been from the juniper branches and such that they threw in and also mixed with. In South America it was yeast from the clay fermenting vessel they used over and over again. Like mentioned before it could be on the stick they pass down from generation to generation. Basically it is all wild yeast that settled on something that is used process after process.I am remebering most of it from this book https://www.amazon.c...0937381667check it out...

[Mynameisluka]

[quote name='DaBearSox' date='26 May 2010 - 02:49 PM' timestamp='1274903396' post='401834'I am remebering most of it from this book https://www.amazon.c...n/dp/0937381667check it out...[/quote]right on...looks like an excellent read.

[denny]

they didn't - but they were making the proto-beer in the same room as the bread and using some of the bread to inoculate it (I think - don't hold me to that).maybe this will help: wiki wiki

AFAIK, it was beer yeast first and then bakers started getting their yeast from breweries.

[MtnBrewer]

Maybe its more of a "isolating a strain that isn't offensive to the palate". Now that could take some time.

It could take a number of attempts or you could get a good one the first time. It's trial and error.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

AFAIK, it was beer yeast first and then bakers started getting their yeast from breweries.

This guy thinks it was bread first, but it was bread being used to make beer so take that any way you like My link

[ScottS]

Do a wild cider fermentation and there you go. No idea how that yeast will work in beer, but it's natural and easy to come by.