dunnright00

Recipes 

WLP005

I wouldn't be worried if not for the slight funky smell, and it's less than 48 hours and the krausen has already dropped.

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Clonefarmer

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Milky white is usually a good sign that it's healthy yeast. It may clump together or do any number of odd things depending on the yeast used.

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dcott

Recipes 

I had a starter last weekend that looked even clumpier and milkier. Pitched it, it took off like a rocket with normal krausen, and the beer looks perfectly normal.

There are so many variables, and since yeast is alive, things can always change. I'm guessing you're good to go.

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dunnright00

Recipes 

Cool. Like I said, my previous starters were in a brown growler, not a clear jug. So I wasn't ready for such an up-close look at this living thing!

Thanks for the replies!!

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Revvy

Recipes 

That's what I was thinking.

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Revvy's one of the cool reverends. He has a Harley and a t-shirt that says on the back "If you can read this, the bitch was Raptured. - Madman

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Beerrific

Recipes 

That looks 100% normal for english yeast. Chill it and taste the spent wort...if it is funky or sour, toss it.

Revvy

Recipes 

Meh, I wouldn't worry about that either. Just because the beer on top of the yeast smells bad, even sour doesn't mean the yeast below is bad.

When we make a starter we are growing more yeast, we're not trying to make a good tasting tiny beer, so we usually don't hop it, or put it in a temp controlled eviroment. So the "beer" on top is not going to be in that great a condition. Often in summer our starter beers go sour, that's why some folks add a hop pellet or two to the boil. And then if we DO hop it, we're leaving it on our kitchen counter in bright sunlight and THAT'S going to skunk, and smell bad....

But unless you go the extra mile, that beer on top, which often sits in the sun, or in a hot room, and without hops is often going to smell, or even taste bad. But that tiny bit of beer won't effect the 5 gallons you are making. You can always decant the starter beer of the top and pitch it.

But I wouldn't scrap it. Half of the starters I've pitched I've never bothered to sniff, and of those I did, many smelled sour or other wise nasty, and I've still pitched them, and never had a bad beer.

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Like my snazzy new avatar? Get Sons of Zymurgy swag, here, and brew with the best.

Revvy's one of the cool reverends. He has a Harley and a t-shirt that says on the back "If you can read this, the bitch was Raptured. - Madman

I gotta tell ya, just between us girls, that Revvy is HOT. Very tall, gorgeous grey hair and a terrific smile. He's very good looking in person, with a charismatic personality... he drives like a ****ing maniac! - YooperBrew

Misplaced_Canuck

Recipes 

Wyeast #1968 makes amazingly odd-looking globs of yeast when it's active, and they "churn" up and down the fermenter while active! It's quite a sight!

The clumps you see remind me of #1968.

M_C

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motobrewer

Recipes 

thames valley II does that for me.

and it smells horrible.

dunnright00

Recipes 

If I remember, isn't 1968 the Wyeast version of 005?

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Caspean Ales and Cider

"I'm sittin' here, completely surrounded by No Beer!" - Onslow