Check out my yeast starters numbers and washed yeast picture, need help.

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cbehr

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I'm about ready to brew a 5g batch of Kolsch 1.052 with washed yeast about 2 weeks. old. Calc says I need about 182B yeast which should require roughly 115ml(3.5oz) for my starter. Second calculator shows a 1L starter with 3.5oz DME with my stir plate. I'm thinking I let this run about 24 hours or so.

I"m not sure how I come up with 115ml of my washed starter? I'm using 8oz jars and it appears there is only 1oz of yeast/trub. On top of that I don' see a clean linen between yeast & trub and there is an odd cloudy darker layer on top that I haven't seen in the other couple yeasts I've washed.

mrmalty.png

yeastcalc.png

kolschyeast.jpg
 
The creamy white line in the mixture of trub and yeast is your yeast. The cloudy area is the least floculant yeast. Swirl up that jar and about 10 to 15 minutes later you should see the trub to the bottom of the jar first and pour the rest into another jar, allowing that to settle out. Your second jar should be primarily yeast.
 
The Yeastcalc screenshot shows you to be starting with 100B cells. That pretty optimistic and I'm pretty sure you're way short of that. Probably more like 20B, give or take. Given this, you're going to need to make a 2-step starter. I used your settings in Yeastcalc and a .8L first step, followed by a 1.2L second step will get you to 183B.

Let all the material in your jar settle, then pour off most of the liquid. Swirl it all up and add it to your .8L of starter wort. Let it go for 24 hours then either a) if you have room in your starter container, add your 1.2L of starter wort for step 2 right on top of the liquid that's already there, or b) (my preferred method) cold crash for at least 24 hours, discard most of the liquid and add your 2nd step of starter wort. Let this go for another 24 hours and then cold crash for at least 24 hours. When ready to brew, discard the liquid, swirl, and pitch.

Edit: I just re-read your post and I see you mentioned that you have a stir plate. Your Yeastcalc screenshot is set to "continuous aeration". The calculations I used were using "continuous aeration". If you change it to stir plate, you can reduce your step sizes a little, to .5L & 1.0L and that'll get you to 180B.
 
Ok so I did 24 hours with a .5L starter then cold crashed 24 hours now tonight will be 24 hours with the 1L starter. There was a small layer of krausen this morning now that's gone but there are a lot if white chunks floating around? Smells ok to me.
 
The white chunks are yeast rafts. They are abondoning ship...:). You will be fine.
 
Lol thanks was just reading up on how different yeast can look and act from one another.
 
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