Using Wild Yeast

[MDH]

I know I have ruffled a few feathers here by advocating wild yeast. Let me clearly lay the process that I use:

The golden rules of using wild yeast are extremely simple:
1. Keep the ABV at 6% or below for fast, dry fermentation.
2. Use good quality water if liquefying. No chlorine
3. Keep the ferment airtight completely at all times before distillation
4. Pitch a strong, healthy starter as soon as fruit is mashed

Using these golden rules I have never had a failed ferment using wild yeast.

Here's how you make the starter in simpler detail than my other posts.

1. Take some of the specific fruit you will be using
2. Put it in a ziplock bag with water and push ALL THE AIR out.
3. Let the ziplock sit in a warm place. After several days it will begin to expand and ferment
4. After it does expands a few times (let the CO2 out occasionally), empty the contents of this into a larger sized zip lock with roughly 4-5 times the fruit in it. Repeat the above step but in the larger bag.
This process specifically adapts the yeast to the fruit that it is going to ferment. When pitched into the mash, the ferment will be both fast and effective.

I invite you to try this and please tell the rest of the forum how it has worked for you. I don't believe that wild yeast is playing Russian Roulette like many have suggested. It just takes a bit of obscure knowledge, but in my honest opinion the results - purely by taste and smell - are far superior to most commercial yeast. And it's FREE.

reference distilleries:
Jean-Paul Mette (France)
Distillery Rochelt (Austria)
Peach-Street Distillery (Colorado)
Germain-Robin (California)

I may update this thread with a photograph version of the process in order to help you understand it.

[S-Cackalacky]

Thank you for the fresh perspective. Could the same process be used for a grain yeast? Please DO post some pics of the fruit yeast process.

[Fidget]

This is really interesting.

For rum, what would be the process - out of the bottle I expect there's not much bacteria or yeast present - would it need to be left to sit out exposed outdoors or somewhere warm in the house first, before going into a bag or airlocked jar ?

[waster]

Actually, I've been making wine and cider for years and NEVER pitched yeast, wild or other. Apples and grapes have everything they need to turn into cider and wine. MDH's process sounds fine, and there is probably a great value to running 3-4 ziplocs and picking the best smelling/performing wild yeast, but I've never had a bad experience just crushing clean fruit and letting it go. This season I did slivovice: the plums took off like a rocket with nothing added. I always use pick my own fruit or buy it at the vinyard/orchard/farm/farmer's market. My comments only apply to properly handled fruit. If you buy it at the grocery store, MDH's process sounds like a good idea.

+1 fermentation locks with wild ferments, so that aerobic bacteria are stopped.

[MDH]

This is really interesting.

For rum, what would be the process - out of the bottle I expect there's not much bacteria or yeast present - would it need to be left to sit out exposed outdoors or somewhere warm in the house first, before going into a bag or airlocked jar ?

Hi Fidget,

If you want to truly be tropical about it, you can simply take unwashed mangoes or other tropical fruit with "bloom" on them, crush them and add them to a ziplock full of molasses water (I recommend 1:3 ratio). Again leave it in a warm place, it will begin to develop within a week.

[woodshed]

Nice write up. I agree with all except for the under 6%. My Juniper yeast works great in the 8% range. Solid advice however that will benefit all curious to pursue the path.

[MDH]

Woodshed, are you using juniper-berry sourced yeast to innoculate grain wort? How is that working for you?

I have had hit and miss results trying to ferment malt sugars with wild yeast from fruit. I'm thinking of stopping by a decomposing wild oat field near here and seeing if I can get anything more suitable.

[woodshed]

I am and it's working great. I chased the holy grail for a long time before landing on this. IMO a unique strain of yeast is a treasure. I am still tweaking on it. I call it Jumpin Juniper.