Wyeast 2206 starter questions

I had 2 packs of this yeast to make a starter with for my bock. When I opened the packages they smelled pretty bad. Is this normal? I went ahead and used a cup of DME with 1300ml of water and boiled that for 15 min. It's been 8 hours now and there's no activity in the starter flask. When I smacked the pack and let it sit for a while they both started to balloon up so I think they were good. How much longer should I wait? I've read this one is slow.

I rarely see any 'activity' in my starters. The amount is not great enough, and ferments out way too fast.

That's good to know. Should I take a hydrometer reading?

If you have a nice milky layer of yeast on the bottom, I don't see why. Wouldn't hurt to take a reading since you will be dumping it anyway.

So the starter really started to take off last night and all day today. It is still going strong with lots of bubbling and a white cake on the bottom of the vial. How long should I let it go before chilling and then decant for pitching? I will be pitching the slurry at the wort temp ~53F.

I read most of the yeast is multiplied out around 48hrs maltosefalcon.com web site on yeast (excellent resource), I try to chill for 48hrs or longer before decanting but some time it is as little as 18hrs.

Clem

just relax. 36 to 48 hours is typical. also, 2 smackpacks in 1.3L may be too high a concentration of yeast, leading to less growth.