Yeast Starter and delayed brewing date

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ElGaardo

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Copenhagen
Hi!

Hope someone can answer this.

On monday I made my first yeast starter for a planned brew on wednesday. Then the whole family caught a cold, and so I didn´t get to brew. Wednesday I, instead, put the starter in my fridge.

So now for the question. How do I get the thing going again? I might be able to brew tomorrow. Could I just take the yeast starter out of the fridge 6 hrs before pitching (as if it was just a new vial), or do I need to make another starter for it?

Or should I just make my way over to my homebrew shop and get a new vial?

Hope someone has some experience with this. Planning brews is damn tricky with a 3yr old and a 1 yr old in the house...

Cheers!
Peter
 
Just pour the liquid off of the yeast cake at the bottom, put the yeast out about 3 hours or so before pitching so it can warm up, and then pitch as normal. I always let my starters completely ferment out, chill them down, decant the liquid on top and then pitch. My fermentations always start quickly
 
I think you can just take it out, let it get to room temperature, and pitch it tomorrow. If the wort is clear on top of the yeast slurry then you can pour off some of that, but it's probably still cloudy.

I did the worst recently. I activated a Wyeast pack over a month ago, realized that I was not going to get to brew, put it in the fridge, 2 weeks ago I took it out and once again realized I was not going to be able to brew so I put it back in the fridge then on Saturday I took it out and brewed on Monday night. My beer is happily fermenting away. I am not advising this method, but I think if you aerate properly and your beer is not too big you should be fine.
 
Thanks to both of you!

I thought I was up **** creek, but I guess I got lucky.

It´s a Schwartzbier with a OG of approximately 1045, so gravity shouldn´t be a problem.
 
Thanks to both of you!

I thought I was up **** creek, but I guess I got lucky.

It´s a Schwartzbier with a OG of approximately 1045, so gravity shouldn´t be a problem.

You should be able to store a completed starter in the refrigerator for a week or so. After 10 days or so I would pitch that yeast to a new starter for 24 hours. Even in the refrigerator there is some small amount of yeast activity and the yeast will start consuming some of their reserves and weaken if they can't get any nutrient from the starter wort.
 
Back
Top