Starter question

I made my starter last Friday night (19th) with the intention of brewing on Sunday afternoon. Life happened and something came up, so brew day was postponed. Kept it spinning on the stir plate until Monday evening and put the flask in the fridge. Tonight, I decanted from 1700ml to 800 and put back in fridge. If I can't brew until Saturday, is my starter ruined? The flask is still covered with foil. Are there any precautions/steps I need to take different from what I would normally do? I've always pitched directly from stir plate to fermentor in the past. I really don't want to waste $15 worth of yeast, but would like to know with enough time to get another starter going if necessary. Thanks.

 

Totally fine.

That is assuming you have kept it sanitized, which sounds like you did.
Essentially what you have is what you but from whitelabs or wyeast they reproduce yeast, pull 100b cells, then send it your way packaged and chilled .

 

Keep it covered and it should be fine. You can always redo a new starter with the old one if you are worried. I have "cold crashed' my starters so I can decant in the past but no longer do it as I found no difference if I did.

 

I haven't re-sanitized since the initial placement of the foil. How would I know if it's been compromised/infected?

 

It is likely just fine. Make another starter using this some or all of this yeast at an appropriate time for your next brew day. Taste some of the beer in the current starter when you make the next one to see if has soured.

 

You won't know if it is infected unless you keep the flask at room temperature for a couple of weeks. You'll just have to trust your sanitation procedures.

I loosen the foil around the flask and spray Star San up to the lip with my hand holding the foil on the flasks mouth for sanitizing before decanting. Do the same when replacing the foil to remove the drips down the side of the flask. May be overkill but simple to do and only takes a minute. Makes me feel better.

The morning of your brew day decant and add 500 ml of well aerated wort for a vitality starter. Pitch the entire contents while the yeast is active.

 

Bad news. I brewed Saturday night and still have no activity in the fermentor. Really bummed out. Perhaps my starter was bad after all. Going to pitch two smack packs tomorrow and hope for the best.

 

No visible signs of a krausen forming?

 

Instead of an airlock, I have a blow off tube. No bubbles at all. The lid is only slightly concaved

 

I haven't opened the lid yet either. I'll do that later this evening and check

 

If you did not make a new started it may just take longer to get going that you are aused to.

 

If my original starter was infected, and I pitch again (picking up the yeast today) that should kick start things, right? Or is the whole batch ruined?

 

If your original starter was infected, you would still see fermentation, just not the kind you want. If it hasn't started yet, the question would be more whether the yeast were killed off, rather than whether the starter was infected. If you avoided freezers and temperatures over 80F, I don't think that's you issue. I would say just give it more time. Some times fermentation is a little fickle, and it might just take a bit longer to start up since your yeast have had a week to get lazy.

 

Was there any signs of a krausen ring at the level of the beer?

 

Yes and maybe. Don't assume it is ruined, it may be ok. Have you tested the specific gravity? Do this before adding more yeast. This gives you data and an opportunity to taste the beer/wort. If there is a krausen and the gravity is lower than the original your yeast is working and you can let it run its course. If not and it still tastes ok add new yeast and wait a week.

 

So you brewed Saturday evening, and on Monday you're worried because you don't see bubbles from a blow-off tube...?

Nothing to worry about, at least not yet.

If you're really worried the yeast are not working, just pop open the fermentor and look inside. If you see any frothing, foaming, or greenish brown gunk on the top of the beer then you're off to the races--try to resist the urge to stare at the blow-off tube, just let it ride and check back in a week or so.

Honestly, if you had a starter on the stir plate it should get the job done, even if you took it right out of the fridge and pitched it into the beer (not the ideal method, by the way, but not a show-stopper by any means). The only thing I can think of that might explain "dead" yeast would be if you accidentally nuked the starter by throwing it into hot wort.

 

Ok, perhaps I jumped the gun a little. My OG was 1.070 and the reading I just took was 1.040. I feel a lot better now. Every other batch I've brewed produced a lot of CO2. But all part of the learning curve, I guess.