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WBC Rooting Around - Lacto

WB-BUG-2026-015 · stage: not-kept · seen 2018 to 2022 and later (dates not recorded)

General Notes

I ended up calling this one Lactobacillus Painintheassus, because that is exactly what it was. The genus is presumptive, from what I saw under the microscope and how it behaved; it was never identified.

It came from the same bottles of Rooting Around, The Wild Beer Co, as the Brett I was after, WBC Rooting Around - Brett. The full story is in the journey.

  • Behaviour: hop tolerant. It would just take over everything, grow within days and poop lactic and acetic acid like its life depended on it.
  • Could not get rid of it: I even used antibiotics. I did not have the right kind of antibiotic, so I think I was just inhibiting its growth in dosed liquid medium; the minute I plated it, it would ramp up again.
  • In my beers: over time it became more and more prominent in my brewery, pushing my beers towards acid drift. In the end I had had enough, and nuked all my equipment and sterilised all my carboys (date not recorded).

Not kept, so it is not in the bank inventory.

Technical notes

n/a (not traced to a named strain).

Morphology

Colonies: not recorded. It grew within days on plates (medium and temperature not recorded).

Cells: short rods, single, in pairs and in short chains (from the photo).

Many short rod-shaped cells, single, in pairs and in short chains, with a few small round particles and faint purple-tinged debris, 1000x oil immersion, phase contrast Lactobacillus Painintheassus · 1000x oil immersion, phase contrast · photo dated 2023-04-04 (from the file)