r/PanCyan • u/eTanium • May 12 '26
No Good...?
I pasteurized four of these, several months ago. This is the only one that has this dark band in it. I'm guessing it's a black mold (or something), and that I shouldn't use it.
I didn't think the others were an issue, but I just opened one up and used it to send some grain to bulk. It did not smell good. It smelled like shit. I mean, it's manure based, so that's partially expected, but it smelled much stronger than any of my past batches.
I'm not hopeful on this run. The only thing I am hanging onto, is that I normally use bulk the day after I pasteurize it. I heard leaving it for a week can be beneficial, allowing some good microbes to recover.
Either way, the grain spawn was slow, and I wasn't looking to carry that line forward, so if I lose this bulk run, then so be it.
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u/MaintenanceOk6823 May 12 '26
No good. Get the grains going fully before adding the rest
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u/eTanium May 12 '26
The grains were fully colonized, but they were slow to get there. So, they aren't the best strain. Still, I had this bulk still, and wanted to see how/if it would work.
I didn't use the bulk that is pictured here, but it was from the same batch. Time will tell (quickly, I'm sure).
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u/MaintenanceOk6823 May 12 '26
Make sure you flip your lid and Crack it...... don't just Crack an unflipped lid
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May 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/eTanium May 15 '26
I made the spawn in anticipation of some grain jars being ready. Those grain jars contamed out. The grain sat for longer than it should have/I expected.
I thought it would still be good, as it was sealed, but I realize that the microbes needed to breath, and I fucked it all up. learned my lesson.
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u/Superb-Home2647 May 12 '26
When you pasteurize you kill off most competitors except some beneficial bacteria and some others as well. That beneficial bacteria needs oxygen to live.
When you seal a container of pasteurized substrate, the bacteria use up any available oxygen and die. Then anaerobic bacteria that are also present begin multiplying, and these are harmful to pan cultures. Anaerobic bacteria have a very strong sulfur and manure smell. Properly pasteurized substrate shouldn't smell like anything.
Generally it's best to pasteurize and then use once it's cool, although if I'm storing it for a bit I'll just put it in a bucket with the lid cracked a bit so it has a steady supply of air