1st starter might have issues

[dirtyjerz]

Hey Gang,

So I decided to make a starter for the first time with WL300 for a Dunkle I was going to get started today. Yesterday at about 6pm I pulled my yeast from the refrigerator with the intent to make the starter at about midnight. I noticed at this time that I only had a little over 1/4 cups of light DME so instead of doing 4 cups water to 1/2 cup DME I did 2 cups water to 1/4 cups DME. Boiled for about 10 mins then mixed in the DME. I crash cooled it down to 70 degrees and then dumped it in jug and shook it good to aerate. Shook the yeast up really good and tossed that in the jug as well. Gave it a good shake and put an airlock on it. Put it in the corner of the kitchen which is about 65 - 68 degrees.

I'm checking on it now and it seems to not be doing anything however every 30 seconds or so I do have a bubbles.

Should I let it sit or give it a shake? How do I know if it's usable? I might not brew tonight or if I have time run and get a packet of dry yeast just so I can get a batch going.

 

[Revvy]

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 bibbling 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.

People always think the yeast at the bottom of the flask is the same, but they are wrong. I am 100% sure your starter took off fine.

Hope this gives you ideas.

 

[dirtyjerz]

Thanks Revvy

OK I got ya. Great info. I didn't have a proper size jug so I used a plain old 1 gallon water jug. Being I used only 2 cups the band isn't really there but the yeast is on the bottom.

Should I be able to visually see that the yeast as multiplied or is the goal to get the yeast to start working so it has an easier time once added to the full batch?