Yeast starter gone wrong?

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thegame310

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Morning all,

So I plan on brewing an irish stout tonight after work and I prepared my starter last night.

2L flask, 1500ml starter.

Put it on the stir plate around 7 last night and left it go. Checked it this morning, and sometime during the night it must of blew through my foam stopper, so I had wort all over my counter top, as well as inside of my stir plate, which made it stop working.

I quickly cleaned the mess, and put the starter in the fridge. Will I be good to go tonight, or will I need to make a new starter with new yeast?

This was Wyeast 1084 btw

Thanks!
 
you will definally have some yeast. Pitchable amount? I'm not sure.
Here is what I would do. (using full sanitation on all this )

Take a gravity, put the sample back, add more DME and water to bring volume back to 1.5L and og about 1.030 to 1.040

give it a couple of days with foil over the top of the flash, NOT a stopper (you are trying to force out CO2 and bring in O2) Use your plate if it is still working. Check gravity at end if it is lower, then you certianly got growth.

Side note, you can clean your insides of your plate, let it dry really well (dishwasher without soap once cured a firends apple 2c of a coke spill, he let it dry 2 days. - in your case it won't take as long because there is less electronics)
 
ACbrewer said:
you will definally have some yeast. Pitchable amount? I'm not sure.
Here is what I would do. (using full sanitation on all this )

Take a gravity, put the sample back, add more DME and water to bring volume back to 1.5L and og about 1.030 to 1.040

give it a couple of days with foil over the top of the flash, NOT a stopper (you are trying to force out CO2 and bring in O2) Use your plate if it is still working. Check gravity at end if it is lower, then you certianly got growth.

Side note, you can clean your insides of your plate, let it dry really well (dishwasher without soap once cured a firends apple 2c of a coke spill, he let it dry 2 days. - in your case it won't take as long because there is less electronics)
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah the stirplate was not working this morning, it's a Stirstarter so I do believe I have a lifetime warranty on it, not sure if it covers this sort of thing though.
 
I do a 1L starter in the 2L flask, and let it run at 68-70F overnight. Never had a blowoff problem. Of course having said that my next starter is going to be a volcano...

If you believe your starter isn't contaminated, I'd go ahead and pitch tonight if you have at least 1L of starter. Cover it with a sanitized piece of tinfoil until then.

w/r/t your stir plate: If it has a digital control system you may be screwed. Here is how I'd clean it:
- disassemble it, putting any digital components off to the side. Clean these very carefully, avoiding getting any cleaning fluid where it shouldn't go.
- Clean the rest of it with carb cleaner and/or WD-40. If there is a lot of plastic inside, test the carb cleaner in a neutral area to make sure it won't erode the plastic
 
I honestly don't think it's contaminated, as when I checked it this morning the liquid level was at 1600ml.

Now, when I put it in the fridge this morning, I didn't put the tinfoil, I still had the foam stopper in. Will that effect anything?

SagamoreAle said:
I do a 1L starter in the 2L flask, and let it run at 68-70F overnight. Never had a blowoff problem. Of course having said that my next starter is going to be a volcano...

If you believe your starter isn't contaminated, I'd go ahead and pitch tonight if you have at least 1L of starter. Cover it with a sanitized piece of tinfoil until then.

w/r/t your stir plate: If it has a digital control system you may be screwed. Here is how I'd clean it:
- disassemble it, putting any digital components off to the side. Clean these very carefully, avoiding getting any cleaning fluid where it shouldn't go.
- Clean the rest of it with carb cleaner and/or WD-40. If there is a lot of plastic inside, test the carb cleaner in a neutral area to make sure it won't erode the plastic
Click to expand...
 
Just an update, brewed tonight, pitched the starter I had left, active fermentation within an hour!

However, I'm sad to report that the stir plate is DOA. Luckily I have a lifetime warranty!
 
The foam stoper is a no no. The whole point of a starter with a stir plate is to degas the starter and to bring in more O2. If you put a sealed stopper (which I assume the foam one is) back in, you can't do this. Worse as preasure builds up (after you are stiring and forcing the co2 out of the solution) it explodes. To demonstrate this in real time, get a soda can, shake vigourously and point it at your head and open. - Now go shower cause you should have soda all over you face and clothes.

Some people airlock their starters, but even this is not the best way to go as the CO2 can get out, but no fresh O2 can get in. The point is to grow yeast, and yeast need O2 to best increase thier count.

Congrats on the active and quick start.
 
If it's one of those soft squishy foam inserts, that should be fine. I have seen those used many times. I guess to be safe though, soak some tin foil in your sanitizer and put that on loosely instead.
 
ACbrewer said:
The foam stoper is a no no. The whole point of a starter with a stir plate is to degas the starter and to bring in more O2. If you put a sealed stopper (which I assume the foam one is) back in, you can't do this. Worse as preasure builds up (after you are stiring and forcing the co2 out of the solution) it explodes. To demonstrate this in real time, get a soda can, shake vigourously and point it at your head and open. - Now go shower cause you should have soda all over you face and clothes.

Some people airlock their starters, but even this is not the best way to go as the CO2 can get out, but no fresh O2 can get in. The point is to grow yeast, and yeast need O2 to best increase thier count.

Congrats on the active and quick start.
Click to expand...

This is wrong. The foam stoppers are open cell so oxygen will enter until co2 production forces it all out.
 
The first starter I ever made I used tin foil with good success, then I watched a Northern Brewer video and Dawson used a foam stopper (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/foam-stopper-46-60mm.html)

Though, I think I'm going to go back to the tin foil with some star san sprayed on it.

Also, fermentation was so active I had to quickly rig up a blow off tube this morning before I left for work.
 
kh54s10 said:
This is wrong. The foam stoppers are open cell so oxygen will enter until co2 production forces it all out.
Click to expand...

Well then I type corrected. If the stopers are air permiable, then use them. However the OP mentioned he had and 'explosion' which started this thread. That woudl only occur if he had a preasure build up. So it seemed reasonable to me that the stoper was not permiable to air. Perhaps it is not quickly permiable to air. >shrugg<

I still think that the stopper was the reason for the explosion, but not having a flask with a stoper, I don't honestly know.
 
thegame310 said:
Just an update, brewed tonight, pitched the starter I had left, active fermentation within an hour!

However, I'm sad to report that the stir plate is DOA. Luckily I have a lifetime warranty!
Click to expand...

Nice to hear it worked out. Too bad about the stir plate.
 

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