OK, I'm about to try my first lager, er sort of. A NB 1554 clone, lager yeast at ale ferment temp.
Anyway, made up a starter, 145gm DME and 1.3l water. (I know that's not enough for a lager, it's all the DME I had, will get more today.) Calculated OG of 1.040. Cooled, oxygenated and pitched the WLP830. Well 12 hours later at 70F and no activity. Hmmmm. I searched lager starters and found it's been a frequent question. So I pulled a hydrometer sample and it is still at 1.040. The yeast was slightly out of shelf life, (May 8) but I figured, how bad could it be? Looks to me like the yeast was totally dead. Should I give it more time or get a new yeast? (I can put off the brew until Monday, thanks to the 3 day weekend!)
Anyway, made up a starter, 145gm DME and 1.3l water. (I know that's not enough for a lager, it's all the DME I had, will get more today.) Calculated OG of 1.040. Cooled, oxygenated and pitched the WLP830. Well 12 hours later at 70F and no activity. Hmmmm. I searched lager starters and found it's been a frequent question. So I pulled a hydrometer sample and it is still at 1.040. The yeast was slightly out of shelf life, (May 8) but I figured, how bad could it be? Looks to me like the yeast was totally dead. Should I give it more time or get a new yeast? (I can put off the brew until Monday, thanks to the 3 day weekend!)
