Yeast Start Flask Overflow

[sk888smooth]

Hello All!

A bit of a noob here, but trying to learn my way. Did a quick search and couldn't find anyone that had this problem with a flask.

So I pitched my Wyeast into a yeast starter made from Malta Goya (a bit less than 2L). I plan on pitching this into a high gravity beer I'm brewing tomorrow.

Here's the problem - I bought the wrong size stir bar (too short) for my homemade hard drive magnet setup. The stir bar falls off the spin every half hour or so. As the fermentation is really starting to pick up, it has begun bubbling more and more each time I get the stir bar spinning again.

The last time I did this I had a pretty decent bubble-out overflow and lost maybe 2-3% of the starter. The main worry here is infection. I boiled and star-sanned the foil top and the top of the flask.

Is there anything I should/can do to help prevent infection? Anyone else have this happen to them before?

Thank you all this forum is a wonderful help to a new brewer such as myself!

Kory

 

[GhengisT]

Hey Sk8-

I'm new myself, and just finished making my hard drive magnet stir plate. Being an IT guy, I have access to tons of old hardware. I pulled apart a CD-ROM drive & took the spindle bar that's used for spinning the platter/disk. It's roughly a little over an inch, made of a non-corrosive metal, and it's hard enough to strip the teeth on the pliers I used to to pull it apart (no damage on the bar tho).

It works like a champ for my 1.5L starter.

 

[flars]

As long as you have material coming out, infection most likely can't get in. What size flask did you purchase? If at the rate you are losing starter; will you still have a sufficient amount of yeast cells to pitch? If not you could sterilize a larger container to hold your starter and do the shake method to finish the starter. Does the flask you are currently using have a flat bottom?

 

[steber]

Homemade stir plate? Can you get the magnets closer together so they are roughly spaced as far apart as the stir bar? Or get the magnets closer (height wise) for better attraction, lastly try slowing the speed down.. as the yeast propagate they solution can become much more viscous. I find it helps to slow down my stir plate during high krausen.

If all else fails shake it every time you walk past it. Not much you can do to prevent the overflow. Just roll with it

 

[sk888smooth]

Thanks everyone - Rolling with the overflow then. It seems to be spinning continually at this point so hopefully I'll be all good from this point on.

Ghengis - Mogol? haha - I did try a Spindle disk first but gave up as it was soldered to a PCboard. Maybe I'll rip it off of there and try it in place of the fan. I'll also try a magnet from a small Hard drive next time.

Thanks again all!