Starter doesn't start

Hi All,

I haven't made a lot of starters till now.

two days ago I made a 3 liter starter with 300g LME and yeast nutrient.
I cooled it to 25ºC and pitched a smack-pack of Belgian Ardennes yeast. I only smacked it 30mins before pitching. The pack was 10 months old (by the manufacturing date) and was kept refrigerated. I find it hard to believe its completely dead, although its probably past its peak.
It's been 48 hours and it doesn't look or smell like fermentation and yeast.

what do you guys think? I'm brewing tomorrow and I'll have to get out and buy some dry yeast (liquid I can only order from the USA) if this won't work.

(RDWHAHB? please?)

If I were you, I'd wait another 48 hours, the starter will probably eventually start working - maybe it is already fermenting, but you don't see any activity, 3 liters it is a big volume, it will dissolve lots of CO2 before you see any foam. I such cases it is better to make smaller starter first, and later step-up to larger volume.

Definitely buy some backup dry yeast, I think S-33 will be most apropriate it this case.

1) It started bubbling now, but I don't see any krausen...
what does that mean?

2) I think I read somewhere that if a starter is bubbling, it means it got to its
maximum yeast propagation, and passed to the anaerobic step.
Is this true?

Some starters krausen, some don't...Some krauzen in the middle of the night and fall really quick. If you are using a stirplate you probably won't get one at all (I never do if mine's spinning).

In other words RDWHAHB.

ohad said:

The pack was 10 months old (by the manufacturing date) and was kept refrigerated. I find it hard to believe its completely dead

Click to expand...

I don't find that hard to believe at all. It would not shock me if it worked, and it would not shock me if it didn't. A ten month old smack pack is an old smack pack. The viability has gone done quite a bit, and it may be to the point where the pack is virtually a dud.


TL

The starter liquid tastes sour. is there any reason for that other that bacteria?