Starter question....

[rdbrett]

Made a small starter with wyeast Belgian Wit......1L starter....100g LME. After 18-20 hrs it still has the "cake" on top. I have it on a stirplate. LME used was old but always in fridge. The "cake" has been on top for some time. Is it ok? Suggesstions? Going to pitch in a beer w/ OG of 1.053. Thx.

 

[rdbrett]

I have had krausen at the top for a long time....10-12 hrs now. Seems like too long. Was going to brew today, but want to make sure its good. Smells good.

 

[strahmhv]

Your fine, its all going to re ferment anyways. As long as you got the yeast woken up and a bit of growth it should do the trick.

Some strains take longer to do their thing.

 

[AQUILAS]

Some folks like to pitch at high krausen, which can happen in that timeframe. I'd say you're good to go. You don't necessarily have to wait until the krausen goes down to pitch.

 

[TheMadKing]

I assume by "cake" you mean krausen?

You are 100% fine. If you let your starter go for too long, the yeast will begin true fermentation (anaerobic respiration, where they make alcohol) and that doesn't do your starter any good. The goal of a starter is for the yeast to make babies not alcohol! I personally think it's best to wait 24 - 48 hours then cold crash your starter, then you can decant off all that nasty oxidized starter wort, allow the slurry to warm to room temp, put in a small amount of LME/DME wort (like 500mL) give it a shake and put it back on the stir plate for about 4 hours before pitching. think of it like the wyeast smack packs, it gets your yeast all woken up and ready to go just prior to pitching, and eliminates the chance of off flavors from starter wort.