kolsch yeast smell

What should my kolsch yeast smell like? I made a starter yesterday that doesn't seem to be starting anything. The yeah smells either buttery or Carmel-ish. I can't decide which. Either way, not like yeast usually smells.

It was two months past it's 'best by date'.

Should i use it or save my hops and order a new vial?

RDWHAHB.

I like kolsch yeast, it is a highly flocculating yeast. It'll leave even a wheat beer crystal clear.

I don't worry too much about what odors are given off by fermentation...they generally have little relevance to the final product.

....and remember its the "best by date" not the "goes bad by date"...it should be fine. Sometimes it just takes a little while for fermentation to get going.

Let me rephrase. I made this starter friday afternoon. The yeast smelled the same coming out of the vial as it does now. I'm not convinced it's fermented the starter at all.

Normally i wouldn't worry, but this starter isn't starting like the others i've done. I'll give it more time and see what happens.

Did you take the starting gravity of the starter?

buckeyebrewer said:

Did you take the starting gravity of the starter?

Click to expand...

You know, i didn't. THis is one of those areas where i have never had an issue before and thus never thought about doing something like that. It's probably okay. I just wasn't sure about the smell and you add the best by date into it and i'm getting worried. The other part of all of this is that i was trying a new system, using a new flask, and such and am not comfortable with it yet. Plus it's a new yeast to me so i don't know how it acts.

thanks for all the help.