Lawrence Brewers Guild

Jason: "Chris, how will I know if my yeast plates have gone bad?"

Chris: "Oh...you will know...you will KNOW!"

Was he right or what....





When I put this plate up, I knew I contaminated my sterile field, so I thought I would grow it out to see what happened. Wow. This was the only plate out of 31 and 64 slants that has gone bad.


Just wanted to give a public "thanks" to Chris (Klickcue) for teaching me how to grow yeast and setting me up for success. He has been extremely free with his knowledge, advice, resources and encouragement to help setup the Kansas City Chapter of the LBG Yeast Bank. Thanks Chris

Is this a great club or what

Jason,

Nice picture!

If you haven't already, don't throw the plate out yet. Let the plate grow and see the outcome.

The plate may be getting too dry for further growth, but it may prove interesting.

Yea, I noticed the side of the pale were shrinking. Should i re-hydrate it with some sterile wort?

J

I don't think that you will be able to rehydrate the agar without a mess other that putting the plate in a humidity chamber. May not be worth the time unless you want to fool around with a plastic bag and a slightly damp paper towel.

Still, it was a nice experiment on your part. Well done!

Controlling the environment from a bugs view point.

This is kinda carry over from a discussion that I had with a fellow brewer this last weekend about bugs controlling their living environment so nothing else could take over their territory.

I have a buttermilk culture (lacto) that is 7 or 8 years old (time gets away from me). The culture is still excellent to use for cooking or drinking even today. The lactic acid with the alcohol has the solution at a point where other bugs can't get a foot hold.

This picture is of slants inoculated with blue mold spores. This is a common mold that everyone eats and breathes millons a day. Left to Right - Lactobacillus Delbrueckii, Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, Brettanomyces Claussenii.

If you look closely at the Brettanomyces Claussenii, you will see that the mold is flowering. There is a white rod that in just above the yeast line and a fine white rod about 2/3 of the way up the slant. If you want a better picture maybe I can get one. The Brettanomyces Claussenii was not able to take over the media before the mold over powered it.

The Lactobacillus Delbrueckii created a dividing line that the mold was not able to cross.

The Brettanomyces Bruxellensis in it's left photo was able to take over the slant plus the mold tried to get a start on the side of the slant. The Brettanomyces Bruxellensis circled around it and now has the mold trapped.

The Brettanomyces Bruxellensis in the next picture has stopped the mold from entering it's territory. Notice the flat edge of the mold where it stops.

Blue mold is an interesting creature in that the surface of the mold is water repellent. Spray some of the mold with water and see what I mean.

Left to Right - Lactobacillus Delbrueckii, Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, Brettanomyces Claussenii.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GZ ... directlink

Chris,
What media do you maintain the buttermilk Lacto on?
jim

Wow!

Thanks for the information and the pictures, That is awesome. Mold is about to get a shower

Jason

Jim.

The buttermilk lacto is maintained in a quart container of whole grocery store milk.

Real easy to take care of, you just replace what is used with fresh milk so it is ready when you need it.

Amazing stuff. Thanks for sharing your knowledge base Chris.

When I was messing around with picture taking of the Lacto, I must have knocked some to the blue mold down into the Lacto area. Powder is now floating on top of the Lacto hooch. Will see if the Lacto beats it down.

It is amazing and scary when you think about how many critters are all around us just waiting for their next meal.

Chris, put the Bugs in the walk-in at 43 F. How often do they need to be feed?

Thanks for the pics.

Jason

Jdl973 wrote: Chris, put the Bugs in the walk-in at 43 F. How often do they need to be feed?
Jason

At the low temperature with a good food source, every couple of months should be fine. I feed mine every month at room temperature.

Just decant of the spent beer and put fresh wort on top of the bugs.