@@SuiGenerisBrewing I found a few different yeasts, all aerobic not fermenting. The main one was Debaryomyces hansenii, which although it doesn't ferment is used as a flavor producing yeast in some lambics. If I can bring myself to sacrifice a couple of my bees I will try this method for a fermenting yeast, what sort of attenuation did you get?
@@allotmentcheers I got less than 1% ABV based on gravity change (e.g. less than 20% apparent attenuation). Did not taste good either - acetone and butter 🤮
@@allotmentcheers when I did from honey. Basically, I diluted it in water with a bit of yeast nutrient. Tried it twice - both times I got some yeast growth, but with minimal attenuation and horrible off-flavour development. What I did in this video was very successful. The lactic character was stronger than I expected, but overall its promising. I suspect with some more aging the bee yeast will have made a great mead.
Just heard you know The Mead House and had to check this method out. I was thinking of trying to make an "estate mead" where all ingredients are gathered from my property and using bees looks much simpler than traditional wild yeast capture methods.
It is easy. And you don't have to go through the vodka step if you don't want. You can just use plain wort. The vodka helps ensure that you get a yeast capable of fermenting to high gravity, but even without it, most wild yeasts have no problem with 8-10% ABV.
when I made mead I grew the yeast from dried figs and raisins added them to a honey / dextrose sollution. It woked well the mead tastes like a cold year sauvignon or chenin blanc. Much better than I ever anticipated.
You would need to boil the starter for 30 min with the hops to get enough iso-alpha acids, but yes, that would work. It doesn't guaruntee a non-sour mead though, as Lachancia yeast are common in bees, and are lactic-acid producing.
Awesome video & accompanying blog entry. We wish you'd post some more often!! :D Great quality as per usual. You're a legend at MTF referencing materials :D I'm in my 1st year of beekeeping, not much honey harvest yet, but hooked for life :D
Its there for nutrients. A product like fermaid-o could be used instead, but I've always got extract on hand for beer starters...and its a lot cheaper than nutrient.
Hi I read in the Internet about wild yeast I made some wort and put it in the jar among the trees one night after being covered with cheese cloth. After that jar closed by airlock for about two weeks. I noticed some foam on the sides of the jar and some bubbles I added more of the wort to the jar and within two days I noticed an active movement of the bubbles and did not see any wort. What do you think about this result?
@@SuiGenerisBrewing Yes I know I am now in the middle of the third week of my starter . I waited two weeks before I added wort but after adding wort in the second time I noticed that the fermentation process Increased activity. I like to make sure that this result is safe.
I made mead with yeast propagated from dried peaches (No sulfites) it bottom fermented and the end product still tastes like a weak chardonnay stored in room temperature in a 10l swingtop bottle on the sediment 8 years later.
It's "mead the hard way", not "mead the easy way", plus, the particular yeast I was after and later isolated from the mead (Lachamcea thermotolerans) isn't found in the honey, but only in the bees gut microbiome.
Fantastic, I just wrote my thesis on yeast that live in the bee colony that have adapted to high osmotic pressure in order to live in honey.
Which species? I've tried from honey a few times, but only got aerobic yeast.
@@SuiGenerisBrewing I found a few different yeasts, all aerobic not fermenting. The main one was Debaryomyces hansenii, which although it doesn't ferment is used as a flavor producing yeast in some lambics. If I can bring myself to sacrifice a couple of my bees I will try this method for a fermenting yeast, what sort of attenuation did you get?
@@allotmentcheers I got less than 1% ABV based on gravity change (e.g. less than 20% apparent attenuation). Did not taste good either - acetone and butter 🤮
@@SuiGenerisBrewing when you did honey or with the method in this video? I thought it looked quite good!
@@allotmentcheers when I did from honey. Basically, I diluted it in water with a bit of yeast nutrient. Tried it twice - both times I got some yeast growth, but with minimal attenuation and horrible off-flavour development.
What I did in this video was very successful. The lactic character was stronger than I expected, but overall its promising. I suspect with some more aging the bee yeast will have made a great mead.
Just heard you know The Mead House and had to check this method out. I was thinking of trying to make an "estate mead" where all ingredients are gathered from my property and using bees looks much simpler than traditional wild yeast capture methods.
It is easy. And you don't have to go through the vodka step if you don't want. You can just use plain wort. The vodka helps ensure that you get a yeast capable of fermenting to high gravity, but even without it, most wild yeasts have no problem with 8-10% ABV.
when I made mead I grew the yeast from dried figs and raisins added them to a honey / dextrose sollution. It woked well the mead tastes like a cold year sauvignon or chenin blanc. Much better than I ever anticipated.
I've had good luck with dried fruits in the past as well.
For extracting the yeast from the bees, would a honey must work as well as wort?
Yep, sugar is sugar
Could you have thrown a hop pellet or two in your starter to kill off the lacto?
You would need to boil the starter for 30 min with the hops to get enough iso-alpha acids, but yes, that would work. It doesn't guaruntee a non-sour mead though, as Lachancia yeast are common in bees, and are lactic-acid producing.
Awesome video & accompanying blog entry. We wish you'd post some more often!! :D Great quality as per usual. You're a legend at MTF referencing materials :D
I'm in my 1st year of beekeeping, not much honey harvest yet, but hooked for life :D
So very incredibly interesting.
Thanks!
Starting fermentation using bee intestines, the absolut mad lad.
what is the purpose of the malt extract in the starter? is it to provide nutrition?
Its there for nutrients. A product like fermaid-o could be used instead, but I've always got extract on hand for beer starters...and its a lot cheaper than nutrient.
@@SuiGenerisBrewing Awesome, thanks for the fast reply!
Hi
I read in the Internet about wild yeast
I made some wort and put it in the jar among the trees one night after being covered with cheese cloth.
After that jar closed by airlock for about two weeks. I noticed some foam on the sides of the jar and some bubbles
I added more of the wort to the jar and within two days I noticed an active movement of the bubbles and did not see any wort.
What do you think about this result?
You need to be more patient. Captures from the air can take 2 to 3 weeks to start fermenting strongly
@@SuiGenerisBrewing
Yes I know
I am now in the middle of the third week of my starter .
I waited two weeks before I added wort but after adding wort in the second time I noticed that the fermentation process Increased activity.
I like to make sure that this result is safe.
I made mead with yeast propagated from dried peaches (No sulfites) it bottom fermented and the end product still tastes like a weak chardonnay stored in room temperature in a 10l swingtop bottle on the sediment 8 years later.
Sounds amazing! You should try to repropagate the yeast for another mead!
@@SuiGenerisBrewing I might still have some in the freezer. Do you think there will still be any viable yeast after 6-8 years in the dregs?
@@rimmersbryggeri its possible. I've recovered yeast from sour beers I brewed 20 years ago in the late 90's. You'll never know unless you try!
Did both batches ferment to dryness?
Yep. D47 finished at 1.000, wild yeast at 0.996
What a great video. Cheers.
Post new videos please.
I'm working on a whole series right now. Look for that (10 episodes) in late December or early January.
hehe the vodka shots
I don't just don't drink beer (& mead & cider & wine)!
....the bee yeast screams add me to a multi-strain brew,,
... you know you can start a wild yeast with just water and honey right. You didn’t have to kill the beeeeessssss!!!
It's "mead the hard way", not "mead the easy way", plus, the particular yeast I was after and later isolated from the mead (Lachamcea thermotolerans) isn't found in the honey, but only in the bees gut microbiome.
Great video! Thanks for a very interesting comparison! Been dreaming of doing something similar, so very grateful that you did it for me :)
You should give it a go!