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Ancient Egyptian Beer update.
A large number of people requested us to brew beer with the yeast @SeamusBlackley extracted from the loaf of bread @drserenalove got us access to.
A large number of people requested us to brew beer with the yeast @SeamusBlackley extracted from the loaf of bread @drserenalove got us access to.
A few weeks ago (or more, I lose track of time easily) I obtained a tube of sourdough culture from @SeamusBlackley to isolate the yeast. At the same time I was fighting bacteria to extract the from the sample obtained from a beer fermentation vessel at @mfaboston.
By the time I isolated the yeast from the bread culture, I also managed to extract the beer yeast, and amplify both. 
I then roasted (to malt) a large batch of emmer berries to bake into bappir loaves to make a nice wort for the yeasties to feed on so I could use them to make good old fashioned Egyptian style beer!
For those that are interested, I roasted the emmer for 2 hours, then made bappir with the following recipe:
2.5c roasted (malted) emmer
0.5c purified water
2 tbsp honey
emmer mash flour (add to mixture while mixing as the binding agent, add flour until you can make a firm loaf.
2.5c roasted (malted) emmer
0.5c purified water
2 tbsp honey
emmer mash flour (add to mixture while mixing as the binding agent, add flour until you can make a firm loaf.
Bake the bappir for until tapping it produces a hollow sound (30-60 minutes), then cut into 1/4 and add to water. Make 1 batch per gallon of water you will be adding.
These would have actually been done in bread vessels as seen here:
These would have actually been done in bread vessels as seen here:
I'm thinking next time to add some yeast and cook slower at lower temps to simulate the yeast in the air at the bakery and see how the bappir turns out. I may have to get me one of those bread molds.
After the enzymatic process completed, I split the wort into two batches - one for the bread yeast and one for the beer yeast - and pitched them in. And did my best to ignore them for a few days.
I couldn't really ignore them. When I looked, I found they were both bottom fermenting yeasts. This is a good sign that they are old! Most modern yeasts, and any that I have worked with are top fermenters, indicating that neither @SeamusBlackley or I contaminated the samples!
So, when my brix reading hit 2.0 I called it done and carefully transferred the booze to new vessels for secondary fermentation, then poured off again and checked it out. They both had distinct aromas - one smelled fruity, the other tangy, and both looked the same.
Now time to taste test. Since neither smelled like rotten kombucha, I figured it was safer than my test with the yeast of the Daughters of Ra. Still, I had my fiance @DawnLJMarCom do the initial taste, and yes I felt mildly guilty about it. But you didn't taste what I had...
There was a distinct lack of spitting and vomiting. Good.
The verdict: the product of the bread yeast tasted like the product of DoR, sour and bready. The product of the beer yeast was sour and fruity (orange? grapefruit?).
I think adding the bacteria from DoR would cut the lactic acid and bring out the underlying flavor nicely!
I think adding the bacteria from DoR would cut the lactic acid and bring out the underlying flavor nicely!
So all three yeasts purported to be from Ancient Egypt all had the same lactic acid production and kept my salivary glands working well past the taste test, which I imagine would be good in a dry environment.
