Was my starter tainted by butter?

[dannyhawkins]

Ok guys its not as odd as you think. I boil starters in my 8qt pot that also doubles as the pasta cooking vessel. I've used it a hundred times and never had a problem until now. So I turned the heat up to boil the water w the lid on and got distracted. Came back later and saw a film on the top but didnt care. I figured it had to do with the hard water cause if I boil for a bit I will get some mineral precipitation regularly. Anyway I proceeded with the starter as usual last night and this morning and all day there has been no foam on the surface.
I am familiar with starters and this yeast, Wyeast GreenBelt. The yeast is not dead there was ample CO2 production and a noticeable increase in yeast when I let it flocc. It's on a stir plate like usual, room temp, all the regular yeast care.
I am now thinking that the pot was not totally free from some old residue like butter. I know the yeast is healthy and safe to use but I don't want to use this in the upcoming brew and slaughter what little head retention I usually have.
I always chill and decant before pitching yeast but I'm worried it will translate to the finished beer.
Has anyone noticed something like this before?
Would everyone else just say eff it and use it?
I have other yeasts I could use so its not a big deal if I have to make a new starter. (But I would have to start it tonight)
Let me know you guys thoughts.

 

[DSorenson]

Depends. How well did you think the pot was cleaned? I can imagine weird things happening with yeast starters from time to time. Also pasta contains a lot of proteins... so it could be the hot break equivalent of pasta. Also, how many generations old is the starter? I wouldn't mess with anything if it has dairy in it for sure. Could make for some bad bugs.

 

[dannyhawkins]

The pot was rinsed half ass and then sent through the half ass dishwasher like every other time. So that's why it seems so odd.
This was a fresh pack, I smacked it when I put the pot on the stove.

 

[DSorenson]

Well I'm sure it's the "Half-assed" portion of that process that might be an issue. Sounds like you've had some repeatability, so who knows for sure. The real issue is that dairy, meat, etc... don't play nicely in fermentation and may make for some really bad bugs that could make you sick. I am not one hundred percent on that, but I believe I read that before in a wine making book. Granted wine and beer are different, but I believe the concern is the same regardless. Is there anyway to taste test the starter before you use it?

 

[dannyhawkins]

Yeah it's possible to test it, I think I will pass though. Next time I open it I will be decanting and it will be too late by then.
The latest update, it still never developed any foam on top while on the stir plate.
I cooled it in the fridge last night then poured into a mason jar today.
The thing foamed up a little finally and still has one inch on top.
I guess I'm satisfied that soap or butter has not ruined the surface tension or whatnot and head retention should be safe.
I'll be using this one after all. Thanks for the replies.

 

[ericbw]

I think even a half ass dishwasher is hot enough to kill bugs?

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

If you cleaned out the pot and then washed it in the diswasher, it's possible that there was still something coating it. I would think that the heat killed bugs, but you cold have had oil or something else in a position that the water jets didn't hit. It could also be residual dishwasher detergent.

It's easy to get worried about something going wrong in your process. However, if I saw something visibly strange in my starter, I think I would ditch it and make another. Even if I had to shift my brew day. I'd rather lose a couple of bucks worth of yeast than four or five times that in supplies plus all my time.

 

[dannyhawkins]

Yeah I'm not worried about bugs, I just felt like detergent or oil residue was in play.
Like I said it seemed to be ok when I poured into the mason and we pitched it last night so time will tell.
It's the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter clone that SdSlim posted in the recipes section if anybody cares.
Thank you all for the input.

Edit: I should remember how to spell the beers I'm cloning.