Decanting a low flocculating yeast starter a bad idea?

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JonBoy47

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Ok so I didnt think about it while I was doing it (first mistake) but I made a yeast starter last week for an american hef I made on saturday using WLP320. I made the starter, let it sit for 36 hours, refrigerated for 24 hours, decanted, warmed to room temp, and pitched. After I was done I got to thinking that being as hef yeasts dont flocculate much perhaps decanting the started was a bad idea. Does the type of yeast matter when deciding to decant or pitch the whole starter?

As a side note the yesties got going within 8 hours and look like they are already winding down. So from a results standpoint I would answer my question by saying it dosnt matter. I was just wondering about everyone elses opinion.
 
A gravity reading will tell the tale. The main potential problem with pouring off the starter (if there was a problem at all) would be if you poured off all the yeasties that like to hang in suspension for a long time (chill be damned) and attenuate the beer to a good FG. If your wheat beer turns out underattenuated, it's because you selected and pitched all the quick-flocculating yeast cells that don't attenuate as much. If I'm making a starter with low floccing yeast (like my annual wit) I pitch the whole starter to avoid the problem. If I needed to make a big starter (and thus wanted to decant the starter "beer") for a low floccing yeast strain, I'd chill it for maybe 3 days before the brew day, just to give those stubborn cells time to make their way to the bottom of my starter jug.
 

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