Hi, I'am going to be fermenting a 5 gallon batch of wine shortly so I thought I would prepare a yeast starter. I know that it isn't a good idea to make a starter from dry yeast but the kit only came with this type and I thought I would experiment. I started by boiling half a litre of water together with a squeezed orange and 2 teaspoons of sugar. I let it cool and poured the solution in a conical flask together with the yeast. I put this on a stir plate and let it mix for 2 days. I put this in a sterilised jar and left it in the fridge. Today I took the jar out the fridge to acclimatise before I prepare the wine. I opened the jar and I smells like strong sweaty feet. Is it ok, or should I ditch it??
The yeast is sitting at the bottom of the jar and looks white. I didn't see much in the way of fermentation in the flask? Is it ok???
The yeast is sitting at the bottom of the jar and looks white. I didn't see much in the way of fermentation in the flask? Is it ok???