yeast killer?

I made a starter yesterday with 32 oz of water to just shy of one cup of DME and picthed the yeast-Wyeast Scottish ale- at 11 pm last night, at 8.30 this morning I have very minimal activity. Very minimal means almost no pretty foam on the top and almost a centimeter of sediment on the bottom. Is this normal for 9.5 hours or should I be worried. I was not worrying and homebrewing it all night but the starter apparently doesn't care. Pitched 80 deg. yeast into 80 deg wort. Help please. Thanks.

Radler,
Give it another 6 hours. My starters typically take about 15 hours to get fairly active. If you dont have activity after 20 hours you might want to consider adding some additional yeast or making another starter.

I assum you pre boiled the water and DME for 10 to 15mins and then let it cool to 75-80 degrees?

Ok, so now I've boiled up some more DME and cooled it and pitched (12 o'clock today) and it sedimented within 2 hours. It's around 80 deg. in there and while there are bubbles coming up through the wort they are not forming a foam on the top and the airlock is bubbling perhaps once a minute. I had wanted to brew today but that doesn't look like a good (possible) idea. Is this, a lost cause/overreaction/bad but saveable/within yeast norms. I just have trouble beleiving that although I saw no huge head and not lots of activity that now it is just sitting on the bottom sleeping and all that within a few hours. Is it still possible that it will go out of sedimentation and start jumping around again? Also, how do I know if a starter is contaminated, so I don't throw it into a whole batch and ruin that? I need a lower stress hobby.

I have yet to get alot of foam on top of a starter. The foam on top of a batch is from other things besides just yeast munching on DME. If you have any bubbling and are getting sediment fallout then it is doing its trick. I have always used my starters (just as you describe making them) about 24 hrs after making them and have always had good results.

If you have a centimeter of sediment at the bottom of your starter, it's done and ready to pitch. You won't get a lot of activity or a krausen on your starter. It will finish up while you sleep and be ready for you the next day.

Relax... everything is going to be all right. The starter showed activity, and you have some sediment, I'd say you're ready to go. Brew it, pitch it, and I'm sure you'll end up with fine beer.

My beer started turning out better once I stopped worrying about the yeast, hitting certain mash temperatures exactly, etc. I think the beer and the yeasties sense my anxiety somehow and respond accordingly. Now if I see activity, I hope for the best and pitch it... pitch it good.

i agree with andre. the yeast is a living organism and i think it can pick up on your vibe as you brew...

t1master said:

the yeast is a living organism and i think it can pick up on your vibe as you brew

Click to expand...

My yeast would be drunk... is this a bad thing?

naw, i am usually a few into a homebrew 12 pack when i brew, plus all the fermenting beer i drink when racking..... i am putting off going to the kegs cause i'd prolly stop drinking coffee in the morning in favor of stout....