Starter question yeast pellicle/krausen

Hi,

I'm fairly new to doing starters so I was hoping someone could take a look at this to let me know what they think. I generally ferment in a bucket so I'm not used to seeing the Krausen form. But I'm using a new yeast here and want to make sure all is good

I'm using the WLP029 and have no experience with this yeast.

I am not planning to add oxygen/agitate this starter, it's gravity is 1.55 and am making it for a Marzen I'm making that will have a similar gravity.

I made starter with 800ml of tap water and about a cup of DME. Also added a teaspoon of yeast nutrient before boil. Brought all ingredientsto a boil on the stove top in the flask. It was cooled in an ice bath with top open, nothing got in other than a sanatized paper towel, a sanatized thermometer and a sanatized eye dropper to test gravity on refractometer. Pitched 1 packet of liquid yeast at room temperature in my home 74°F

Just want to make sure it's healthy.

Thanks in advance

 

Reading between the blurs that starter looks fine from here.
What you're seeing are "yeast rafts" and are totally normal in an unstirred starter.
And I doubt an infection would appear so quickly unless it was intentional.
Carry on...

Cheers!

 

Cool, that's what I was thinking too. The glass got cloudy from the foam that boiled up.

Thanks!

 

Is there a reason you don't want to agitate this starter? Typically one would try to get oxygen in as it is a necessary part of the yeast reproduction. Agitation is one way to do this.

 

I'm using it within 28 hrs. I did some reading and I had stated that since I'm not decanting you don't want to create too many off flavors. I messed up in starting the starter too late

 

That starter doesnt look like it is doing much... Then again perhaps the kind of yeast you are using doesnt foam up like the us05 or champaigne yeast I start up with. My process has never failed and even works for restarts on stalled fermentations.

I dont over-science my start ups. I use Iodine sanitiser to clean a beer glass, boil the kettle, pour quarter glass of boiled water. Cool down by adding same amount of the wort directly in there from the fermenting vessel. finger test it - it should be luke warm (if it feels too hot for you then it is...) I then add a tablespoon of normal sugar and the dry yeast sachet. stir it up till it disolves. cover in cling wrap and sit it for 20 minutes. The yeast will form a huge foam head above the liquid and may actually overflow the glass if you leave it long enough. Pitch it once the foam and liquid measures 50/50 in the glass.

when I pitch it I pitch in one area of the fermenting bucket and do not agitate or stir it in... close it up and wait for the air trap to start indicating activity.