Yeast Starter Carbonated

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americansoldier

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Last night I made a starter using wheat dme and Wyeast Belgian Witbier yeast for my Belgian White. This morning when I woke up and shook it, the airlock vented off a tone and blew out sanitizer. I was worried so I tasted my starter beer and it is really carbonated. Did I kill my yeast with CO2 if the airlock didn't vent?
 
I think you would have to have some pretty good pressure built up in the starter for it to fully carbonate the beer. Most likely what you are seeing is the yeast doing their thing and the co2 bubbles are the actual byproduct of fermentation. However if the pressure did build up then I would be more concerned about creating a bomb (or a big mess). I don't use a stopper and airlock for multiple reasons, but the main one is that the airlock isn't allowing any oxygen into the starter and it isn't helping the yeast replicate. I just use a sanitized piece of foil and loosely crimp it over the neck of my flask then set it on the stir plate. In your case, use foil and shake it around once or twice an hour while you are awake/around to promote good gas transfer and help the yeast replicate.

In short, pitch it and it should be fine.
 
Yep. If the starter has done its thing, there WILL be CO2 in solution (like in a Coke before you shake it). I learned this the first time I used a starter. Decided to swirl it up before I remembered to decant. Exciting!
 
RiverCityBrewer said:
I think you would have to have some pretty good pressure built up in the starter for it to fully carbonate the beer. Most likely what you are seeing is the yeast doing their thing and the co2 bubbles are the actual byproduct of fermentation. However if the pressure did build up then I would be more concerned about creating a bomb (or a big mess). I don't use a stopper and airlock for multiple reasons, but the main one is that the airlock isn't allowing any oxygen into the starter and it isn't helping the yeast replicate. I just use a sanitized piece of foil and loosely crimp it over the neck of my flask then set it on the stir plate. In your case, use foil and shake it around once or twice an hour while you are awake/around to promote good gas transfer and help the yeast replicate.

In short, pitch it and it should be fine.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my first thought was "Holy Christ! I almost created a yeast IED in my fermenting room (spare bathroom)." After that, my thoughts went to whether or not I had damaged my yeast.

Yeah, immediately after I had discovered the issue, I started researching and had already decided almost immediately to abandon the stopper/airlock in favor of sanitized foil. I'm searching for a deal on a stir plate as well.

I'm going to drive on and pitch the starter.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Well, I can confirm that the yeast certainly wasn't hurt. This morning when I went to check on my fermentation, it was quite a sight in my bathroom. I had though the beer had already reached high krausen yesterday afternoon, but apparently not. It high krausened it's way all the way into my airlock, which it turned into a missile apparently. What a mess! And I was just thinking yesterday maybe I should look into setting up with a blowoff now that that I'm doing starters.

I just hope that no nasties managed to sneak into my beer in the absence of an airlock.
 
It's not carbonated, it just built up a lot of co2, which is fine. It means that the yeast ate your starter liquid and converted it, which means they reproduced.

There's a big difference between having a lot of co2 built up in a vessel and carbonation. Carbonation happens when the co2 which is first trapped in the headspace seeks the path of least resistance and forces itself into the solution. Some new brewers, opening a bottle after only a couple of days and it foams up think that it is carbonated, when in reality it hasn't gotten to the stage of going INTO the beer yet.
 
Revvy said:
It's not carbonated, it just built up a lot of co2, which is fine. It means that the yeast ate your starter liquid and converted it, which means they reproduced.

There's a big difference between having a lot of co2 built up in a vessel and carbonation. Carbonation happens when the co2 which is first trapped in the headspace seeks the path of least resistance and forces itself into the solution. Some new brewers, opening a bottle after only a couple of days and it foams up think that it is carbonated, when in reality it hasn't gotten to the stage of going INTO the beer yet.
Click to expand...

Yeah, got that yesterday after the replies I got on here sparked some more research and a short physics review to find that it is virtually impossible to carbonate a growler with a rubber stopper and an airlock even if it were plugged. Kinda felt like an idiot for panicking and posting that before really thinking it through.

As I said though everything with the starter worked out fine; too well in fact judging by the mess I have in my bathroom this morning. Truly plugged airlock; this time in the carboy with the beer though. :eek:

New airlock's in though and it's bubblin' away. Hopefully this one holds up until I can get home after work with a blowoff hose.
 
americansoldier said:
Last night I made a starter using wheat dme and Wyeast Belgian Witbier yeast for my Belgian White. This morning when I woke up and shook it, the airlock vented off a tone and blew out sanitizer. I was worried so I tasted my starter beer and it is really carbonated. Did I kill my yeast with CO2 if the airlock didn't vent?
Click to expand...

You're fine, a carbonated started works fine.
 

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