open air fermenting

I’ve got a few extra gallons of the Imperial Stout left over from the sparge that is about 1.050. I was wondering if I left it sitting outdoors for an hour to cool, and poured it into a container and threw an airlock on it if it would ferment like a sour stout. It’s about 10 degrees so are there any yeast in the air that are alive this time of year? Should I leave it sit in the house for half a day and then seal it in a gallon jug? Anybody have suggestions about this idea? Will it work? Am I going to get some creatures that might make this undrinkable? It’s just a wild yeast experiment I’ve been dying to try and it seems like a good opportunity since I was just going to dump this extra runoff anyway.

Thanks!

I usually do it between 30F and 40F, but colder should be just fine.

You may want to consider this...

http://www.ratebeer.com/forums/topic_new.asp?topic_id=282180&whichpage=0

I guess I’ll transfer a gallon over to the jug once it’s cooled down and put it in the basement with an airlock and wait to see what happens. Should be interesting one way or the other.

If you’re after a beer full of wild yeast why are you putting an airlock on it ???

After I thought about it, I’m leaving it open to the air until later tonight. Exposure to the air in my house for 8 hours should be enough, shouldn’t it? If not, I’ll leave it overnight, but I don’t know what to expect. Never tried this before. Seems crazy but fun.

Originally posted by hopbomber
If you’re after a beer full of wild yeast why are you putting an airlock on it ???

I wouldn’t leave it open inside the house. Homes tend to not have the best resident population of microbes. Stay with your initial plan. Cool it outside and put an airlock on it once you’ve moved it inside.

OK. Thanks. I’ll stop it up again and post the results in a week or so.

It’s been about 5 days and it’s been fermenting the last 3. My first spontaneous fermentation. It smells scary, but I haven’t tasted it yet. I’ll check the gravity and if I can stand the smell I’ll hazard a taste test and report back. Not expecting anything, just a wild yeast experiment effort.

Don’t expect it to taste good for the first while...in fact, I wouldn’t bother tasting if for a month or two.