First time Lager Yeast

I brewed a cream ale using Wyeast 2112 Cal Lager yeast. I made a 2000ml starter by using half a cup of DME and some nutrient. I boiled it for 15 mins then cooled and pitched the yeast. I let the starter sit for 4 days covered in foil. I smelled it on brew day and it didn't smell right. Almost sour. I pitched it anyway along with another smack pack of 2112. I'm fermenting at 67°-68° F. The air lock smells a little sour. I hope it's just the lager yeast, but it could be infection. I know that the only way I will know for sure is to let it ferment out and taste it, but I don't want to ferment for 2 weeks and lager for 4 weeks to find out that it is sour. Any thoughts?

What will it cost you to wait 2 weeks before deciding? Just let it sit, not like it's taking tons of work to maintain. Better to find out it's sour then than to always wonder if it wasn't if you toss it.

I understand you want to know, now, whether it's infected or not and save yourself the worry. But things simply don't work that way.

Besides, let me assure you that you are almost certainly fine. If a starter 'doesn't smell right,' that is an excellent sign that you have done your job well. It means all those noxious compounds that you smell in the starter won't be in your beer; they are the effluvia of yeast reproduction, and the reason we make starters to start with. Raise your glass high! Your yeast were fruitful, and multiplied. Now they can begin to craft their very own tower of Babel-in-a-glass.

Don't be alarmed if they should start to reek of rotten eggs, either. Some yeasts are ever so spiteful to those who give them sustenance, and lash out in such fashion. That, too, will pass. Again, it is a good thing; a sign that your yeast are filled with fire and brimstone, an unquenchable joie de vivre.

lager yeasts reek, dont toss it. you woulda noticed pellicle if it was an infection.

dcp27 is the crisp, simple lager to my rich, overpowering ale.

I've never had a problem with 2112, but the starters reeked of banana. I pour the beer off and pitch. Finished product is clean.

nice. Thanks guys. I really needed reasurrance. I hate waiting helplessly. I need to learn to trust yeast. After all I did hire them to do a job, maybe I should just let them do it.

BenJSpain said:

I brewed a cream ale using Wyeast 2112 Cal Lager yeast. I made a 2000ml starter by using half a cup of DME and some nutrient. I boiled it for 15 mins then cooled and pitched the yeast. I let the starter sit for 4 days covered in foil. I smelled it on brew day and it didn't smell right. Almost sour. I pitched it anyway along with another smack pack of 2112. I'm fermenting at 67°-68° F. The air lock smells a little sour. I hope it's just the lager yeast, but it could be infection. I know that the only way I will know for sure is to let it ferment out and taste it, but I don't want to ferment for 2 weeks and lager for 4 weeks to find out that it is sour. Any thoughts?

Click to expand...

, but fermenting a lager @ ~70 degrees? Answers please.

its a hybrid yeast. http://www.wyeastlab.com/com_b_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=131

DCP27 is correct. It's a hybrid yeast. Originally a lager yeast that is meant to be fermented at higher temps