[Never a dull moment.]
What's the final, if any, determination on WLP001 and sour smelling and/or tasting starters? There are posting all over the web, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus of any kind. Understanding that sometimes it *will* be an infected starter, it seems some degree of sourness happens often, if not usually, when there is nothing wrong.
I just did a starter with this yeast. 1k ml in a 2k ml flask, DME (6 Tbs, 2 tsps), 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient, boiled for 15 minutes. The flask was washed well, but not sanitized as I figured the heat from the boiling would do it for me. As I've seen has happened to others, the vial foamed up after I shook it and some of the yeast was spilled (White Labs says the foaming is normal and one should wait a few minutes before opening the vial after shaking it). The exterior of the vial wasn't sanitized.
The starter went on a stir plate for 48 hours in a temp-controlled chest freezer at 72-73F. After I turned off the stir plate, the starter remained in the chest freezer at 63F for another 12 hours, in part to let the yeast settle. Then I pitched after pouring out about half the liquid.
The starter had a faint, but noticeable sour smell. I'm still working on my palate and nose, so it's entirely possible I had it wrong. However, the smell would bring immediate images of Belgian sours.
As I said, I pitched it anyway, figuring something in the process caused the generation of these compounds and I'm relatively confident of my sanitation procedures.
The recently published book "Yeast", which I think is excellent, provides some good info on the yeast life cycle, including the fact that they do generate a variety of organic acids, including acetic and lactic.
So, what is the consensus on this?
What's the final, if any, determination on WLP001 and sour smelling and/or tasting starters? There are posting all over the web, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus of any kind. Understanding that sometimes it *will* be an infected starter, it seems some degree of sourness happens often, if not usually, when there is nothing wrong.
I just did a starter with this yeast. 1k ml in a 2k ml flask, DME (6 Tbs, 2 tsps), 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient, boiled for 15 minutes. The flask was washed well, but not sanitized as I figured the heat from the boiling would do it for me. As I've seen has happened to others, the vial foamed up after I shook it and some of the yeast was spilled (White Labs says the foaming is normal and one should wait a few minutes before opening the vial after shaking it). The exterior of the vial wasn't sanitized.
The starter went on a stir plate for 48 hours in a temp-controlled chest freezer at 72-73F. After I turned off the stir plate, the starter remained in the chest freezer at 63F for another 12 hours, in part to let the yeast settle. Then I pitched after pouring out about half the liquid.
The starter had a faint, but noticeable sour smell. I'm still working on my palate and nose, so it's entirely possible I had it wrong. However, the smell would bring immediate images of Belgian sours.
As I said, I pitched it anyway, figuring something in the process caused the generation of these compounds and I'm relatively confident of my sanitation procedures.
The recently published book "Yeast", which I think is excellent, provides some good info on the yeast life cycle, including the fact that they do generate a variety of organic acids, including acetic and lactic.
So, what is the consensus on this?