Re: [CH] Wild Yeast

Kristofer Blennow (kristofer@blennow.se)
Wed, 14 Oct 1998 17:25:04 +0100

On 14 Oct 98, Kit Anderson wrote:

> All Belgian lambic brewers, the Fischer winery in California, and many New
> England hard cider makers would disagree that wild yeast is a bad thing.
> You may sacrifice consitency but you benefit in complexity. -- St. Kit

Yes, this is true. If you grow your own crops, and have an old, 
controlled environment for the manufacturing, you could say that you 
also have control over what microorganisms/yeasts that you introduce 
to the brew. Indeed, for example, many grapes have a really thick, 
grey layer of natural yeast on the outside, that will quickly start a 
healthy fermentation.

It is however completely different for the home maker. It is much 
more difficult to keep everything "quasi sterile" in your kitchen, 
and if you buy the grapes/apples/peppers... you can't be sure what 
kind of microorganisms you get.
 
Maybe, as indicated before, some crops (like cabbage) has the same 
strong natural microorganisms present as grapes have?


Regards,
Kristofer