Why does my starter never have krausen foam?

I am pitching liquid yeast into 1 pint of 1.040 starter wort and it bubbles a little and works fine when i pitch it. I see pictures of starters that have and inch of foam on top of them and i was just wondering what i was doing wrong if anything. I aerate it by shaking it by the way.

I would like someone more knowledgable than myself to confirm this, but I believe that the answer to this is that your yeast aren't fermenting your starter wort, they are just propogating, so you wouldn't see a krausen, which would be indicative of an active fermentation.

You also could just be missing it overnight.

Ypu actually should be using your starter before any krausen begins to form, while they are propogating, before they are fermenting. After fermentation begins, they begin to go dormant again, thus defeating the purpose of a starter.

here's a thread I started on the same topic a few months back:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=50224

I'm glad I found this thread. Last night I got a starter going with my Pacman yeast. Woke up today and there was no krausen. So thanks for answering this guys, I have been freaking out all morning.

ilikestuff said:

Ypu actually should be using your starter before any krausen begins to form, while they are propogating, before they are fermenting. After fermentation begins, they begin to go dormant again, thus defeating the purpose of a starter.

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Even if the yeast in a starter go dormant they will wake up again when pitched into fresh wort. Some people let their starters ferment completely, chill them down and decant the fermented wort, pitching only the dormant yeast at the bottom and this method works well.

I've only made a few starters, because I tend to use dry yeast, but the ones I did make all had krausen and they all fermented my beer like crazy. I normally make a 1-quart starter 2-3 days in advance of brewday and pitch the whole thing.