starter issue

pitched wlp802 in .5 gallon 1.040 dme. its been 24 hours and still 1.040. never had this happen before - not sure if im screwed and should go by more yeast tomorrow or what.

any thoughts?

I'd give it more time than 24 hours. Chances are it's still in a lag phase. I'd say close to 1/3 of my starters don't show any visible signs at 24 hours with yeast that's no older than 2 weeks. If the yeast is older or wasn't handled well it can often take more time.

its a date of best by may 9th - so that's jan 9th production. i think its finally going now...starting to see more white on top as it swirls on the stir plate.

Did you aerate / oxygenate the wort? On a stirplate? If not, could be lag time. I always keep dry yeast packs as insurance.

Cyclman said:

Did you aerate / oxygenate the wort? On a stirplate? If not, could be lag time. I always keep dry yeast packs as insurance.

Click to expand...

+1 on keeping dry yeast on hand. Saved me a couple of times.

yes aerated and on stir plate.

im thinking i better use bottled water for my starters now that in know the water profile..its probably why they are slow to take off - not optimal conditions for the yeast.

what do you think?


by the way, it did take off last night and finished this morning - im at 1.010FG so into cold crash and step up tomorrow night with another .5 gal of 1.040 wort (with bottled water).


water profile:
pH 8.0
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 283
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.47
Cations / Anions, me/L 5.3 / 5.4
ppm
Sodium, Na 114
Potassium, K 2
Calcium, Ca 4
Magnesium, Mg 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3 14
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 3
Chloride, Cl 3
Carbonate, CO3 6
Bicarbonate, HCO3 297
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 253