Starter issues

[Cos]

I'm planning on doing my first PM tomrrow. I need to see a big improvement in my beer or I'm going to be very disappointed.

I made a starter last night with a WL pitchable vial. Mr. Malty said to do a 1 qt starter.

I used 3 oz dme and 1 qt water, after adding yeast I put a loose cap over the top and shook off and on for 4-5 hours. I never noticed any activity.
Based on other posts, that wasn't enough dme to see much activity.
Here's my concern: I didnt' mix the sterilizer properly, I use iodine based, should have been 3/4 tsp per quart, I only used 1/4 tsp. My other issue is that if the yeast fermented jout in just an hour or two, then I spent 2-3 hours beyond that introducing air into the vessel.

Should I use the starter or not? This batch needs to be without mistakes!

 

[FlyGuy]

Hey Cos -- yeah, those starters ferment fast. Blink and you miss it! (almost)

Your DME to water ratio is fine -- probably in the 1.025 to 1.030 SG range. A bit low, but far better than too high!

Look for signs that it did ferment out, such as yeast settling on the bottom of the flask or bubbles rising to the surface when you agitate the flask. You can also use something sanitary to draw a small sample of the 'beer' and taste it. It should be more on the dry side than sweet side. You could also take a gravity reading to be sure, but you are going to have to sacrifice some of your starter to do so.

Regarding the sanitation, was the flask really clean before you sanitized it? If so, I bet it will be OK. Generally, if it tastes and smells like yeast (not sour or pungent) then you should be OK to use it.

Hope that helps!

And good luck on that PM! I bet you notice a real improvement in your beer.

 

[Cos]

What is this stuff floating on top? The yeast has settled. It's been 21 hours since I made the starter.

 

[FlyGuy]

What is this stuff floating on top? The yeast has settled. It's been 21 hours since I made the starter.

Evidence of success, I believe!!!

 

[Cos]

So what is the stuff on top? Should I pour that off before I pitch?

 

[Blender]

How big of a batch you making? A quart doeesn't seem like enough to me.

 

[Cos]

5 gal, 1.046 ale.
Mr. Maly calculator said 1 qt.

 

[Blender]

I suppose that you will be OK ,but I never do less than a 2 quart starter. I would pitch the whole thing. I always take a bit of the boiled wort and cool it, add it to the starter vessel to get the yeast good and active by the time the beer is cooled and ready to pitch.

 

[Cos]

I looked at it again to see if that stuff on top was just foam or what and I noticed my air lock bubbled. It's about 1/minute. I swirled it around to resuspend the yeast and it foamed on top.

Gues it's working.

 

[Spyk'd]

You are using an ale yeast and it ferments on top of the wort. What you are seeing is the yeasts getting ready to really get going. You want to see that on top and very soon you'll have a foam on top which is a high concentration of activity.

I agree that your starter will work, but would go a littler larger next time and pitch the entire thing.

 

[TheJadedDog]

A 1 qt starter will be fine, I typically pitch 1qt for anything below 1.060 and it has always worked for me.

 

[gfranks7807]

How big is that jar? It's hard to judge from the picture. You'll need 1.5 quarts of actual starter for an average 1.048 OG ale.