Capturing Yeast w/ Embrace The Funk
The Bootleg Blog is back! It’s been a crazy few months since the last blog post.
There have been a ton of new things in the pipeline that I know you’re going to love.
It’s prime Local Yeast Capturing season! Time to go outside and see what fun bugs you can find. Remember, it’s easy to become a part of Bootleg Biology by Contributing to our Local Yeast Project. And there are great benefits for being a Contributor! So reach out to us soon!
Without further ado, here’s the latest news!
Homebrew Con 2016
We’re baaaaaack! I’ll be presenting again this year at Homebrew Con 2016 (née NHC) in Baltimore. Hope you got your tickets! The seminar is “What is Wild Yeast, Where is It, and How do you Brew With It?” and will be on Friday, June 10 at 3:15pm-4:15pm.
Here’s the seminar description:
What makes a yeast truly wild? What is Brettanomyces, and are all beers with Brett actually wild? Where are the best places to find different types of wild yeast? Based on the latest research from Bootleg Biology, we’ll discuss how to classify different types of brewing microbes, where they actually are found, and the best techniques for capturing wild yeast for brewing unique beers with local character.
Bootleg Brew Science @ NHC 2014
I’ll also be doing a few demos through out the conference at Maryland Homebrew‘s booth on how to use the Yeast Wrangling Kit. They’ll have Kits and Refills available at their booth throughout the Conference. And who knows, there might be some other special items for sale there too!
NHC is a blast every year because of all the awesome people who attend. If you’ll be there, please come by and say “hello” after the seminar, demos or if you see us during the conference. Most importantly, please share your homebrew with us!
Brewery Services
Over the past few months we’ve really been ramping up our lab geekery to previously unimaginable levels.
Yeasties on their way to Norway
And now we’re able to offer a ton of services to Craft Breweries including: IBU & SRM testing, Culture Banking, Cell Counts and Viability Checks as well as Local Yeast Culturing. And there’s even more services on the way.
We’ve also been upgrading our ability to make larger prop sizes. We can now do up to 8 BBL pitches of any previously released culture, as well as custom blends. Thanks to our friends at Mill Creek Brewing, we’ll soon be offering pitches for fermentations up to 60 BBL in size of select cultures!!
If you’d like to order a commercial sized pitch or service, please use the contact form on this page.
New Homebrew Culture Launch
And now, what you’ve all been waiting for. 😉
The previous culture launches have been a great success thanks to you! We’ve used them to learn which cultures had the most interest. Now we can plan better in advance, and so can start shipping orders the day after the launch!
Homebrew Cultures will officially be for sale again Monday, May 16 at Noon Central Time. They’ll start shipping out the following day on May 17 and through May 18.
We’ll be rereleasing all the previously available cultures:
AND, of course we have another new culture to release!
P. pentosaceus sours like a boss
Sour Weapon, is a blend of two Pediococcus pentosaceus cultures sourced entirely from the wild: an anaerobic malt starter, and flowers from Murfreesboro, TN.
Perfect for acidifying unhopped wort quickly for kettle or “quick” sours. At 98F, it’s capable of achieving a pH of 3.3 within 18 hours. At 84F, it can reach a pH of 3.5 within 24 hours. With more time, a terminal ph of 3.1 may be reached.
Kettle souring with Pediococcus?? What the…?! I know, sounds crazy! But with the right culture it works, brutally well. And makes yummy sour beer in hardly any time. What’s not to love!
A note about shipping Homebrew Cultures:
Since it’s warming up in most parts of the country (sorry, Colorado), please try to plan accordingly. If you aren’t home when the USPS typically delivers your mail, we highly recommend changing your shipping address to your place of work or to a friend who can immediately refrigerate the package once its delivered. Please check out our Ordering & Shipping Policy for more details.
To fermentation!