I made a starter using a stir plate and didn't see any krausen layer? Would that be because the speed at which I had the stirplate going? I neglected to take an OG reading of my starter wort but i used 4 cups of water and 1 cup of DME. I did take a final reading which was down around 1.010 so I assume that it did kick off and ferment. I ended up not brewing the day I planned so I put it in the fridge. Am starting my brew day now, and pulled the yeast out of the fridge and see the nice separation so I'm pretty sure I'm all good, just kind of hoping someone could verify that since it never seemed like the starter was active while in the flask.
Didn't see any krausen in my starter...
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JollyIsTheRoger
Well-Known Member
You shouldn't get a kreuson if it was on a stir plate. The stirring action would prevent any foam from forming.
snccoulter
Well-Known Member
After about day 5. on the second step of culturing yeast from a bottle of Blue Moon I got kreuson. It was there over night because I saw the remnants on the side of the flask.
scoundrel
Well-Known Member
JollyIsTheRoger said:
I have to disagree. It depends on the strain. I've had several starters form a Krausen on a stir plate.
Instead of expecting a Krausen, watch the color. If it has a light milky appearance, that's a good indication that the yeast are in suspension.
Activity in a starter really only means one thing and one thing only.
It doesn't matter one blip in your fermenter or your starter flask if the airlock bubbles or not (if you are using an airlock and not tinfoil if you are using tinfoil, you aren't getting bubbling anyway,) or if you see a krauzen.
In fact starter fermentation are some of the fastest or slowest but most importantly, the most boring fermentations out there. Usually it's done withing a few hours of yeast pitch...usually overnight when we are sleeping, and the starter looks like nothing ever happened...except for the little band at the bottom. Or it can take awhile...but either way there's often no "activity" whatsoever....
I usually run my stirplate for the first 24 hours, then shut it down, if you are spinning your starter it is really hard to get a krausen to form anyway, since it's all spinning, and there's often a head of foam on it from the movement.
All that really matters is that creamy band o yeast at the bottom.
This is a chilled sample so it's flocculated, but even with an unchilled sample you should see a band of yeast at the bottom. Here's an unchilled version
Same thing, a band.
As it is I've only ever seen two or three krausens actually on my starter (one blew off a bunch of krausen and knocked the tinfoil off the flask,) and the evidence of one on the flask at the "waterline" once. But I've never not had a starter take off.
Look for the yeast at the bottom, don't worry what it looks like on top.
If you have yeast on the bottom....that's all you really need.
If it looks anything like that, your are ready to either feed it again, or use it.
It doesn't matter one blip in your fermenter or your starter flask if the airlock bubbles or not (if you are using an airlock and not tinfoil if you are using tinfoil, you aren't getting bubbling anyway,) or if you see a krauzen.
In fact starter fermentation are some of the fastest or slowest but most importantly, the most boring fermentations out there. Usually it's done withing a few hours of yeast pitch...usually overnight when we are sleeping, and the starter looks like nothing ever happened...except for the little band at the bottom. Or it can take awhile...but either way there's often no "activity" whatsoever....
I usually run my stirplate for the first 24 hours, then shut it down, if you are spinning your starter it is really hard to get a krausen to form anyway, since it's all spinning, and there's often a head of foam on it from the movement.
All that really matters is that creamy band o yeast at the bottom.
This is a chilled sample so it's flocculated, but even with an unchilled sample you should see a band of yeast at the bottom. Here's an unchilled version
Same thing, a band.
As it is I've only ever seen two or three krausens actually on my starter (one blew off a bunch of krausen and knocked the tinfoil off the flask,) and the evidence of one on the flask at the "waterline" once. But I've never not had a starter take off.
Look for the yeast at the bottom, don't worry what it looks like on top.
If you have yeast on the bottom....that's all you really need.
If it looks anything like that, your are ready to either feed it again, or use it.
Awesome posts guys thanks, I suspected that the stirring action was sucking any krausen that may have tried to form back under but I had also messed arround and did a couple of practice starters a couple weeks back when I frist got my stir plate and I did see krausen so this time I was a bit worried. My chilled sample looks like the one posted above. I went ahead and decanted most of the liquid off the top and stirred it up and took it out to sit at room temp while I brew until it's ready to pitch. No problems with doing that correct?
thanks again guys, Finished up my brew day around 2pm and pitched the starter that had been in my fridge for a couple days (I decanted and then swished it around good and it sat out on the counter during the course of the brewday to get warmed back up) got home from work a little after 9 and my blow off tube was already rocking and rolling. That is definately the fastest I've had a fermentation get poppin!
