Help with Starter

[DPveritasGold]

I need some advice on WLP320 American Hefe yeast. I made a 3L starter for my brew this weekend on Tuesday, January 19, and to this point it never really showed any real signs of fermentation. I didn't see much bubbling or krausen or anything so I'm afraid I got a bad vial. The expiration date on it was February 19, so it was a month away from expiring so I feel like it still should be good. Has anyone used this yeast before? Possibly it's just a characteristic of this strain as some yeasts ferment more "violently" than others. Thanks

 

[IslandLizard]

Is it cloudy? Any sediment?
Take a gravity test, that will tell you whether it works.

 

[xpops]

if it expires in 1 month, that also means it's over 3 months old (i believe WLP puts their expiry 4-5 months out from date of culture harvest).

I've had some starters take longer than the typical "36-48 hours" when the culture is 4+ months old. And sometimes they dont really get a krausen at all! As mentioned above, they typically do still get cloudy/murky, and taking a SG reading really is your best bet to tell if you have any activity.

good luck!