How do I know if my starter fermented?

[MN_Jay]

Long story short, I made a starter last night for my newcastle clone I'm brewing tonight, it was a Wyeast Brit ale - pitched into the starter without smacking. I never got a chance to check it this morning but at noon today there was a tiny bit of froth at the top (2 pieces about a quarter size each) and yeast settled to the bottom. Is there anyway to tell if it is finished or hasn't even started yet?? I see no evidence of krausen in the bottle. I use a 2 liter plastic pop bottle and the settled yeast fill the dimples on the bottom, maybe a little more. I'm not sure if I should use this tonight or go with the backup pack of dry nottinghams I have. Incidently I used 1/2 cup DME with 2 cups of water. I know it sounds like I'm rushing things but the opportunity to brew tonight came unexpectedly and being summer, free time is hard to come by. Thanks

Edit: The title of this thread should be "How DO I know if my starter fermented" - too big of a rush to ask a question I guess.

 

[Beerthoven]

Even if your starter hasn't fermented out completely you still have more cells in there than what you began with. I guess what I'm trying to say is, you don't have to wait until its all done to pitch it. As long as it has started to ferment, and it sounds like it has, then brew with it.

I almost never get a krausen on my starters. I can tell if they've started going by swirling it and sniffing. If it foams up and smells like CO2, then I'm happy.

 

[Yooper]

If you really, really have to know, you can always take a SG and see if it's lower. I have done that when in doubt, but I really think Beerthoven is right!

 

[Revvy]

IS there a band of yeasties on the bottom of your vessel?

 

[MN_Jay]

Thanks all. Revvy, I'm not sure what you mean by a "band", but there was yeasties settled in the bottom - if that's what you mean. Anyhow I did end up brewing last night and shook up my starter and pitched at 72 degrees at about 10:30 last night. 6 oclock this morning I had bubbles already.

On a side note I remembered that I significantly boiled over my starter (I know, I'm an idiot, I turned my head for 5 seconds and whammo...) So I may have lost some of my dme that way so there may have not have been much for fermentable sugars in the starter.

 

[Revvy]

Thanks all. Revvy, I'm not sure what you mean by a "band", but there was yeasties settled in the bottom - if that's what you mean. Anyhow I did end up brewing last night and shook up my starter and pitched at 72 degrees at about 10:30 last night. 6 oclock this morning I had bubbles already.

On a side note I remembered that I significantly boiled over my starter (I know, I'm an idiot, I turned my head for 5 seconds and whammo...) So I may have lost some of my dme that way so there may have not have been much for fermentable sugars in the starter.

band, or layer, or holding up the flask and looking at the bottom and seeing a different color sediment...that means the yeast has floculated and your starter should be ok.

Glad yours worked!

 

[MN_Jay]

So can unfloculated yeast still settle? Thanks again for the help.

 

[Revvy]

So can unfloculated yeast still settle? Thanks again for the help.

I guess dead yeast could settle straight down, but there will just be a little bit at the bottom...if the yeasties have flocculated, than they also have reproduced and the amount will be larger...but I don't worry about it, of all the starters and yeast harvests I've done only one or 2 had krauzen that I actually saw, the rest had bands, and 100% of them worked...so like I said, I don't worry, and if I see a large schmeer of yeast in the bottom of my starter vessel, then I do a happy dance and pitch.

 

[cubbies]

The thing you have to understand about starters is that you are pitching enough yeast to ferment 5 gallons of beer into, what, a pint of wort? Yes, your starter does ferment, but if is very fast and their is typically very little krausen.

If you ever make a starter from a smaller batch of yeast, you will see the starter ferment. For example, I once made a starter from my first attempt at washed yeast. There was not much actual yeast and it fermented for about a day and a half.

Long story short, with starters you dont look for krausen of any other visible signs of fermentation. You just want a nice layer of white, or light brown yeast on the bottom.