Richard L Walker wrote:
> yeast is concerned, there is always the "strong" possibility of
> infection, contamination or whatever you want to call it. When I made
> wine, sanitation was easy (a few Camden tablets). When I made beer,
> sanitation was tough (dilute Clorox solution and rinse for everything
> it touched.)
Not really. Beer and wine don't have any checks and balances built into
the system. As the old saying goes, "God makes vinegar, the wine maker's
job is to keep him from doing it."
Sourdough is an entirely different critter. The sourdough starter is in a
state of symbiosis with lactobacillus bacteria and yeast. The bacteria
make anti-biotic compounds and make the starter more acidic, both of which
protect the starter from invasion. Once the culture is established, it
becomes quite stable. As mentioned, a german resarcher has had cultures
that haven't changed in 50 years.
Of course, if you introduce lacto bacillus into must or wort, you have a
real problem. It happened to me once and despite efforts to get rid of it,
the wine was undrinkable.
Mike
--
Mike Avery
MAvery@mail.otherwhen.com
ICQ: 16241692 AOL IM: MAvery81230