WLP001 starter - Is this normal?

I'm planning on making a Pliney today. I'm concerned about my starter. I could run down to the LHBS and get a couple new vials, if any of my concerns are valid. But, this is my first time using this yeast, so...maybe what I'm seeing is normal....and just different from my usual strain.

I've been growing a 2L WLP001 starter for the last few days. I use stir plates, and I have the starter in 2 1L Erlenmeyer flasks (both on stir plates). I started from a vial in a single flask. After the first step completed I split it in two and topped up with fresh wort.

Yesterday I crashed it, decanted and added 800 mL of wort to each. I added this last addition about 12 hours ago.

This yeast starter shows only slight signs of activity:

1. a small quantity of bubbles swirling to the surface (presumably co2)
2. milky yeast in suspension
3. There is only small evidence of krausen on the flask (a very light ring about 1/4 above the starter level in the flask.
4. I tasted the starter and it is rather bland and watery.
5. When I stop the stir plates very little material drops out of suspension to settle onto the bottom.

This is my first time using calale. I've been brewing english styles for as long as I can remember, so I normally use WLP002. I'm used to more dramatic signs of activity in the starter, with 002:

1. When I stop the stirplate the yeast quickly drops to the bottom and you can easily see the quantity of yeast that has grown since the previous step.

2. I always see a fair amount of CO2 bubbles in the starter as well.

3. There is usually a larger krausen ring...where I have to leave enough headspace in the flask or it may overflow.

I know that calale is much lower in flocculation compared to 002. Perhaps this is the reason for my observations. If this were a normal pale-ale, or something I'd just RDWHAHB, but with the investment in hops (both in simply locating them and the cost) for a Pliney...I'm a little more cautious.

I just realized maybe a visual aid or two would be helpful. I'll go take some pics in a few minutes.

Here is a pic of the starter with the stirplate going.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8spzx1cc8dgelij/IMAG1433.jpg

You can see the evidence of the krausen ring, and the bubbles. Obviously, its very milky. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

i'd say it's fine. does it smell overly yeasty? do you have a refract you could take a reading with?

Thanks for the reply.

Smells like a normal starter, doesn't smell "off" or anything. I don't have the most sensitive of noses, but I get a mixture of malt aromas and yeast. Nothing overpowering or unusual.

I don't have a refract, always just worked from SG. I had a similar thought, and wished I could take an SG reading. Maybe someone should make little baby hydrometers.

If the first starter reached completion and you had a nice layer of yeast after cold crashing, you should be good to go. And yes, different strains act differently. If it is a low floc strain and you just added more wort, it won't settle out by just turning off the stir plate. You'll need to pitch the whole starter or cold crash again. What I do for low floc strains is cold crash the night before brew day and then pull the starter out a couple hours ahead of time to warm up to room temp before I pitch. I would just pitch the whole starter and not try to settle out the yeast at this point.

BBL-

Thanks. After the first step there was about a 3/16" milky middle layer of yeast. There was about 1/16 layer of break material on the bottom, and a dusting of a protein layer on the very top.

Yes, I was planning on just pitching the whole starter rather than crash&decant. I usually like to pitch while the yeast is still active. Calale is a medium floc, yeast...so, I was expecting a little more to settle out. Live and Learn.

PS: thanks for the "freezing yeast" tutorial. I've been freezing my yeast that way for several months...since a read it.

One trick I'm using when there isn't a lot of time is to decant the 1st step starter and then pour yeast into my fermenter (keg) with about a gallon wort after it is chilled in the kettle. I leave the kettle out all night and let the fermenter do it's thing until morning or ~10 hours. Then I add the remaining wort, fermcap and aerate. Worked great on the last wlp001 at 1.073 and will try next week with Pliny on the depleted keg yeast cake after I transfer today.

tom_hampton said:

PS: thanks for the "freezing yeast" tutorial. I've been freezing my yeast that way for several months...since a read it.

Click to expand...

No problem. Glad you found it helpful.