3rd batch ever. Unsure about yeast starter...

[eighteez]

So I smacked the smackpack.

It wasnt ballooning up like the 1st one did... Package said it didnt need toi expand all the way. Manufacture date on it is June 2010. It also said older yeasts take longer...

3 hours go by, not much expansion at all.

I made the starter wort in the flask and let it cool overnight. Leaving the yeast alone til morning.

The yeast expanded more. Not fully, but noticeably.

I added it to the flask and let it sit at room temp degrees all day.

Now its time to boil and I'm not confident that it did what it needs to do.

Here is a pic of what I have. (not real good pics I know)

www.jershangout.com/files/uploads/temp/yeast1.JPG

www.jershangout.com/files/uploads/temp/yeast2.JPG

Isnt that just undissolved DME? How can I tell if the yeast did their thing?

What if I pitch this tonight and its not active? Do I just make more yeast and dump it in later? Shall I abort?

 

[BillyBroas]

So you pitched it into the starter this morning? The last one I made was with older washed yeast. After 36 hours I was about to give up, but then it finally kicked in and a krausen formed. It had a great fermentation. Point being, sometimes it takes a while.

I would pitch it. If you boiled the DME than it won't be undissolved. That's a layer of yeast on the bottom. If you wait 72 hours and there's nothing happening in your fermentor, then you can consider adding fresh yeast.

 

[eighteez]

I did boil it... But I'm not 100% sure that is not DME still. It was a very gentle boil. For a full 15 min.

Gas on stove was all the way down. Temp was under 200 F but it was bubbling...

If I dont see activity and I need to pitch fresh yeast, do you recommend making another starter? Or just smack the pack, let it expand and then pitch it?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

That doesn't look like clumps of DME at all. And I would highly doubt there is any undissolved DME if you "boiled" for 15 minutes.

That is just yeast cake. You can get the yeasties to work through the starter (and provide them enough oxygen) if you swirl every now and then. I usually swirl every couple hours when making a starter 2-3 days in advance. What's your time-frame for pitching? If you're posting this as you're boiling wort I'd swirl every 5-10 minutes or so.

But overall, to answer your main concern, that looks like healthy yeast. It's only been a day. Full active fermentation can take 24-72 hours to show signs.

 

[KevinW]

Do you have a stirplate? If not, I recommend getting one (I mean RECOMMEND)!
From what I have read about starters is that you do not need to wait for the pack to swell if you are making a starter, just pitch it in the starter and let the yeasties go to town.(the starter sort of takes the place of smacking and expanding the yeast)

If you boiled the DME for 15 minutes than it should be dissolved just fine.

the Date should be fine, I did a starter with yeast that had expired almost a year ago and they did fine, although I did one step up and used two vials!

If your gravity is not too high like in the 1.050-1.060 range I would not be concerned at all. Give the starter about 18 hours then pitch it or give it 2-3 days then refridgerate and pour off the starter liquid and pitch just the yeast!
RDWHAHB

 

[eighteez]

alrighty...

What a night.

We had our first boil over. (luckily were outside)

I blame the DME. Never had one with the liquid malt...

No biggy. More cleaning....

We also boiled 45 min before remembering the hops.... Dammit...

That tacked on 45 min to the night. Gotta boil the full 60 min hop time.

Bottled a batch at the same time as boiling this one. That went well. 1st night with a bottling wand. Definitely easier. And better for bottling I understand.

Getting everything cleaned up now....

 

[eighteez]

starting gravity was right where it needed to be.

We aerated the **** out of it before pitching the yeast. The wort was quite foamy. The first 2 batches we had werent like that. Hope that's ok....

Will check the airlock in the morning and see how its doing. (8-9hrs) Then again after work. (18-19hrs in)

 

[eighteez]

airlock this morning was bubbling away nicely.

\m/

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Excellent, glad to hear everything went well.

Bottled a batch at the same time as boiling this one. That went well. 1st night with a bottling wand. Definitely easier. And better for bottling I understand.

You've bottled without a bottling wand before? Jebus, that must have been a pain! How many batches did you do before without a wand and what was your technique? I'm intrigued...

 

[Revvy]

Here's some basic info on starters and what to look for.

It doesn't matter one blip in your fermenter or your starter flask if the airlock bubbles or not (if you are using an airlock and not tinfoil if you are using tinfoil, you aren't getting bibbling anyway,) or if you see a krauzen. In fact starter fermentation are some of the fastest or slowest but most importantly, the most boring fermentations out there. Usually it's done withing a few hours of yeast pitch...usually overnight when we are sleeping, and the starter looks like nothing ever happened...except for the little band at the bottom. Or it can take awhile...but either way there's often no "activity" whatsoever....

I usually run my stirplate for the first 24 hours, then shut it down, if you are spinning your starter it is really hard to get a krausen to form anyway, since it's all spinning, and there's often a head of foam on it from the movement.


All that really matters is that creamy band o yeast at the bottom.

This is a chilled sample so it's flocculated, but even with an unchilled sample you should see a band of yeast at the bottom. Here's an unchilled version

Same thing, a band.

As it is I've only ever seen two or three krausens actually on my starter (one blew off a bunch of krausen and knocked the tinfoil off the flask,) and the evidence of one on the flask at the "waterline" once. But I've never not had a starter take off.

Look for the yeast at the bottom, don't worry what it looks like on top.

If you have yeast on the bottom....that's all you really need.

 

[krisagon]

There's a product called fermcap s that will prevent kettle boilovers. It's been my Savior after several boilovers!

 

[Revvy]

There's a product called fermcap s that will prevent kettle boilovers. It's been my Savior after several boilovers!

Me too. I've also added it to starters that looked like they were going to go out the top of the flask. And in the fermenter.

 

[eighteez]

only 1 batch without a wand.

Just bottled slowly and carefully from the spigot. Learned the error of my ways from you all here. Got a wand the next day. \m/

Thanks!!!!