ScoutMan
Well-Known Member
Up until this last batch, I always just pitched a vial of the appropriate White Labs into the wort. Lag time is usually about 15 hours or so. I had some old yeast that was approching it's expiration date, so this time I made a starter(750ML h2o and 1/2 cup of DME). After about 15 hours or so, the starter showed little signs of fermentation. I thought that I might have missed it during the night and could not measure gravity since I had broken my hydrometer the day before. I went ahead and added a little more DME, re-agitated and watched it carefully. A few bubbles through the airlock, but never any krausen. The next day I pitched it anyway and went away on business. SWMBO said it took about 36 hours for the fementation to become active enough to require a blow off tube. After all of this lagtime and such, What kind of off flavors can I expect??? Why such a long lag time with a starter? Temps were correct and I used the same method of aeration that has been successful on all of my other batches.