Yesterday I made my first starter, but I'm not sure what to expect, or if the yeast died in transport to me. I built a starter using 40oz. water and one cup of extra light DME, boiled out for fifteen minutes, transferred into a sanitized growler, and let cool with a sanitized growler cap on it. I pitched a smack pack of WY2565 Kolsch at 63F, shook the living hell out of it, and put a stopper and air lock on it. I've been watching it since i pitched, and swirling it every so often, but so far, it seems like there is no activity. After sitting overnight I expected to see some sort of krausen, but to no avail, just a little bit of what looks like star san remnants. I took the airlock off, capped it, shook the hell out of it again, and then put a piece of sanitized foil over the top thinking it might not have enough oxygen. Just wondering what to look for, and if it's possible that the yeast bit the big one when it was shipped (It came arrived in the middle of august, with another smack pack, both were put into the fridge immediately, and the other pack worked just fine in my last batch). Any suggestions with this would be much appreciated.
1st Starter, not sure what to expect.
- Thread starter Wus67
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makomachine
Well-Known Member
Sanitized foil is the right choice and swirling when you can will help. It sounds like you are doing the right things - be patient as they don't always show signs of active fermentation.
Activity in a starter really only means one thing and one thing only.
It doesn't matter one blip in your fermenter or your starter flask if the airlock bubbles or not (if you are using an airlock and not tinfoil if you are using tinfoil, you aren't getting bibbling anyway,) or if you see a krauzen. In fact starter fermentation are some of the fastest or slowest but most importantly, the most boring fermentations out there. Usually it's done withing a few hours of yeast pitch...usually overnight when we are sleeping, and the starter looks like nothing ever happened...except for the little band at the bottom. Or it can take awhile...but either way there's often no "activity" whatsoever....
I usually run my stirplate for the first 24 hours, then shut it down, if you are spinning your starter it is really hard to get a krausen to form anyway, since it's all spinning, and there's often a head of foam on it from the movement.
All that really matters is that creamy band o yeast at the bottom.
This is a chilled sample so it's flocculated, but even with an unchilled sample you should see a band of yeast at the bottom. Here's an unchilled version
Same thing, a band.
As it is I've only ever seen two or three krausens actually on my starter (one blew off a bunch of krausen and knocked the tinfoil off the flask,) and the evidence of one on the flask at the "waterline" once. But I've never not had a starter take off.
Look for the yeast at the bottom, don't worry what it looks like on top.
If you have yeast on the bottom....that's all you really need.
If it looks anything like that, your are ready to either feed it again, or use it.
It doesn't matter one blip in your fermenter or your starter flask if the airlock bubbles or not (if you are using an airlock and not tinfoil if you are using tinfoil, you aren't getting bibbling anyway,) or if you see a krauzen. In fact starter fermentation are some of the fastest or slowest but most importantly, the most boring fermentations out there. Usually it's done withing a few hours of yeast pitch...usually overnight when we are sleeping, and the starter looks like nothing ever happened...except for the little band at the bottom. Or it can take awhile...but either way there's often no "activity" whatsoever....
I usually run my stirplate for the first 24 hours, then shut it down, if you are spinning your starter it is really hard to get a krausen to form anyway, since it's all spinning, and there's often a head of foam on it from the movement.
All that really matters is that creamy band o yeast at the bottom.
This is a chilled sample so it's flocculated, but even with an unchilled sample you should see a band of yeast at the bottom. Here's an unchilled version
Same thing, a band.
As it is I've only ever seen two or three krausens actually on my starter (one blew off a bunch of krausen and knocked the tinfoil off the flask,) and the evidence of one on the flask at the "waterline" once. But I've never not had a starter take off.
Look for the yeast at the bottom, don't worry what it looks like on top.
If you have yeast on the bottom....that's all you really need.
If it looks anything like that, your are ready to either feed it again, or use it.
Thanks for the info guys, looking at it this morning there was a definite line of stuff on the bottom of the growler, but not sure if it was that nice creamy color you had Revvy, as i was looking at it in my dim kitchen, I'll keep an eye on it and swirl it some more, if everything goes well i'll be pitching Wednesday afternoon.
thegerm
Well-Known Member
most of the liquid yeasts i had shipped to me in the middle of the heat of the summer took about 36 hours to show signs of active fermentation in my starters. just gotta be patient, they all take off eventually.
