Yeast starter = less yeast in glass??

So ever since I've been using a starter with my stir plate I've noticed something odd... All my batches have no yeast clumps going into the glass. For example, when I would use Wyeast 1056 just pitching from one pack I would often get some yeast in the beer even with a careful pour. It would sink to the bottom and stay there but you could clearly see it. But now, using a starter with the stir plate it all stays behind in the bottle, I don't get any settling at the bottom of the glass. I originally thought it was a fluke bit now after many batches I get the same results. I'm happy of course because it's making beer that is visually more appealing but can someone tell me why this might be? I always thought more yeast cells would translate to more yeast in the beer. Is it because they are healthier? Or am I just crazy?


Rev.

you are crazy. i think it's coincidence. the yeast in the starter is not the same yeast in the bottle so why would it behave ANY particular way just because the "mother" yeast started life on a stir plate.

eastoak said:

you are crazy. i think it's coincidence. the yeast in the starter is not the same yeast in the bottle so why would it behave ANY particular way just because the "mother" yeast started life on a stir plate.

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I know, it sounds pretty crazy but I've now seen this over every batch since getting my stir plate 11 months ago and making starters.

But here's my thinking in trying to figure out why this could be. I've been wondering if the more healthy yeast flocculate and stick to the bottom whereas I might possibly have had some dead yeast before using the stir plate that were more likely to break free and go from bottle to glass.

This is all pure speculation, and I might still be waaay off in that rough, uneducated, hypothesis. It's more of the best guess I could think of. Btw, I'm using the same yeast strains as I've been using for a long time now. I mentioned 1056 and in the past I always just took the yeast going into the glass as due to the fact it's medium-low flocculation. Since the starter/stir plate I don't get a single yeast glob at the bottom of my glasses.

I dunno, weird for sure.


Rev.

do you chill your beers earlier, longer, or colder now before serving?

lumpher said:

do you chill your beers earlier, longer, or colder now before serving?

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Nope, the same. Even if I get antsy to taste something and throw it in the freezer for 45 minutes I still don't get yeast at the bottom of my glass.


Rev.

Ya know, I've recently been noticing less settled yeast in my bottles and have wondered why that is.

Not saying it is because of, but now that you mention it, I realize the batches I've thought this about have all been since I started using starters on stir-plates.

...you might be on to something

.....but what do I know

I always just left the last couple teaspoons of beer stay in the hump in the bottle when I poured. That way I never had yeast in the glass; unless I made a wheat beer and deliberately swirled it.

I think it's possible that by using a starter and pitching the appropriate amount of yeast, that when it came time to bottle there was sufficient healthy yeast able to consume the sugars without a need for reproduction. "What happened? I blacked out" --Will Ferrell (in Old School)