Has anyone used or considered wine/beer yeast as a sourdough starter?

Thank you so much for the reference. I will pursue this subject anon.

Coincedental to my original request for information I recently adapted a KAF recipe for Mustard Sandwich Bread, using dark ale instead of water. This was a whim rather than a science based choice. Here is a link to the original recipe.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/mustard-rye-sandwich-bread-recipe

The modification was spectacular. The brew, (Rickards Dark) was used at room temperature and without flattening. Following is my final formula:

1 cup (8 ounces) Dark Beer
1 tablespoon each Hot German mustard and French's Regular Mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons (3/8 ounce) dried minced onions
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 cup (4-1/4 ounces) Dark Rye Flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon Dough Conditioner

Mix and knead together all of the ingredients--in a bowl, mixer, or bread machine--to make a smooth, but quite sticky dough. (Polysaccharides in rye called pentosans are responsible for this stickiness; they're the reason rye dough will never attain the silky, delightful finish that wheat-based dough's are capable of.) Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and let it rise for an hour; it'll become puffy, but probably won't double in bulk.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and gently deflate it. Shape it into an 8-inch log, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Cover the pan, and allow the loaf to rise till it's crested a good inch or so over the lip of the pan. This should take between 60 and 90 minutes; give it more time if necessary. This bread doesn't have much oven spring, so you want to get as full a rise in the pan, before baking, as possible.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190°F. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Yield: 1 loaf.

To my great surprise, this was not a first time "wonder" as a duplicate loaf was produced with a different mustard combination, just today. Dijon and Honey mustards were substituted and it still had rave reviews.

 I just took this Eric. It's all that is left of yesterday's efforts. Should you decide to give it a whirl, try saving and drying a couple of slices for use as croutons. It is also a winning component in poultry or salmon stuffing. I consider this to be my best find ever.

Colin 

Thanks for the tips and links Eric.