attenuation

[Merlinus]

Okay, you had posted that before, I forgot. Brewers Friend now says 0% viability. BF is very conservative though. People have made successful starters with older yeast.

Should i leave the packs until tomorrow ? Or can i prepare the starter tonight ? Thanks !

 

[flars]

Should i leave the packs until tomorrow ? Or can i prepare the starter tonight ? Thanks !

You could leave the packs until tomorrow to see if they will swell, if you have the time. Older yeast in a starter will take a little longer to propagate new cells.

The last smack pack I used, WY 1084, was different than previous ones. It had a twin cell pack inside and was much more difficult to break. I was only able to break one. The second part of the nutrient pack I cut open and poured into the starter.

 

[Merlinus]

You could leave the packs until tomorrow to see if they will swell, if you have the time. Older yeast in a starter will take a little longer to propagate new cells.

The last smack pack I used, WY 1084, was different than previous ones. It had a twin cell pack inside and was much more difficult to break. I was only able to break one. The second part of the nutrient pack I cut open and poured into the starter.

it started to swell a little ! it was difficult to break both packs, but maybe because its my first time.

i think i will do the starter tomorrow.

 

[Merlinus]

After 20 hours they are the same, just a little swelled... it was a little cold in the room 20-21 degrees celsius

Uptade: i decided to make the starter, now it's on the stir plate, i cut the packages, inside there were 2 little bags, only 1 of them was broken, the one that wasn't broken i took it out, sprayed it with alcohol and chemipro oxi and poured it also in the starter. its ok ?

 

[flars]

Your yeast was not dead. You should be okay with the size of starters planned.

 

[Merlinus]

Your yeast was not dead. You should be okay with the size of starters planned.

how do you know ? i did a 2.7 liters starter, using 2 packs of wyeast yeast

 

[Merlinus]

when should i notice signs of activity in my starter ? thanks

 

[flars]

when should i notice signs of activity in my starter ? thanks

The amount of time will vary with the strain of yeast and age of yeast. Could be 6 to 12 hours, but this is just a estimate given the variables. Your wort will begin turning a creamy white/tan when activity is beginning. You may even see chunks of yeast swirling in the flask with some yeasts. There may or may not be a krausen. This is also dependent on the yeast strain.

 

[Merlinus]

The amount of time will vary with the strain of yeast and age of yeast. Could be 6 to 12 hours, but this is just a estimate given the variables. Your wort will begin turning a creamy white/tan when activity is beginning. You may even see chunks of yeast swirling in the flask with some yeasts. There may or may not be a krausen. This is also dependent on the yeast strain.

As you see my starter is dark, i dindnt want to open a white DME also i added a little of maltodextrin (didnt had enought dark DME), is that ok ? will i be able to see the fermentation and the yeast ? thx

 

[flars]

As you see my starter is dark, i dindnt want to open a white DME also i added a little of maltodextrin (didnt had enought dark DME), is that ok ? will i be able to see the fermentation and the yeast ? thx

Maltodextrin is not a fermentable sugar. You can save your yeast by cold crashing to settle the yeast out. Decant the liquid and make a new wort with DME.
Even if later on your DME gets some moisture and clumps, it is still good.

 

[Merlinus]

Maltodextrin is not a fermentable sugar. You can save your yeast by cold crashing to settle the yeast out. Decant the liquid and make a new wort with DME.
Even if later on your DME gets some moisture and clumps, it is still good.

i added about about 260 grams of dark dme and only about 40 grams of maltodextrin.... and 2.6-2.7 liters of wort (without the yeast which is 250 ml)

 

[flars]

i added about about 260 grams of dark dme and only about 40 grams of maltodextrin.... and 2.6-2.7 liters of wort (without the yeast which is 250 ml)

You might still be okay with only using 40 grams of the unfermentable.

 

[Merlinus]

You might still be okay with only using 40 grams of the unfermentable.

actually i just found the bag: it was muntons enhancer. so it still has 50% malt extract

 

[flars]

Great!
Now that you are well underway for these two brews, are you familiar with the "Joy of Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian and Palmers old book that is online, "How To Brew."
http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html

Good references for going forward.

 

[Merlinus]

Great!
Now that you are well underway for these two brews, are you familiar with the "Joy of Home Brewing" by Charlie Papazian and Palmers old book that is online, "How To Brew."
http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html

Good references for going forward.

Thanks ! I have read How to brew online book and Brew like a monk.

 

[Merlinus]

this is how it looks after 22 hours

edit: after 30 hours still no krausen, i decided to put it in refrigerator, i hope it fermented, and will decant good. hopefully tomorrow i can brew.

 

[Merlinus]

It's starting to settle on the bottom, how many centimeters of yeast should i have ? 2,7 liters of starter, 2 packs of yeast, in a 3 liters Erlenmeyer glass. thanks

this is how it looks after 24 hours in refrigerator, during the "fermentation" it didnt make any foam, so im wondering if it fermented, or what i see on the bottom its the initial yeast ?

 

[flars]

It looks like you have more yeast than you put in. One pic on stir plate showed the wort getting lighter in color. This means the yeast was building. Check the specific gravity of the wort. If it had time to ferment out completely, I would estimate a SG of 1.012 to 1.014. Pour a sample into your test tube and bring it to about 60°F for the most accurate reading.

Keep it all sanitary, don't want to lose it at this point.

 

[Merlinus]

It looks like you have more yeast than you put in. One pic on stir plate showed the wort getting lighter in color. This means the yeast was building. Check the specific gravity of the wort. If it had time to ferment out completely, I would estimate a SG of 1.012 to 1.014. Pour a sample into your test tube and bring it to about 60°F for the most accurate reading.

Keep it all sanitary, don't want to lose it at this point.

Thanks so much for your opinion. Tomorrow i will brew the beers and try to pitch it, hope it will ferment the beer. It looks like its still flocculating to the bottom.

 

[flars]

Thanks so much for your opinion. Tomorrow i will brew the beers and try to pitch it, hope it will ferment the beer. It looks like its still flocculating to the bottom.

After the wort clears take the SG reading. It would be better to delay your brew day than having an incomplete starter resulting in an under pitch.

After you brew this beer, harvest the yeast. You will be able to harvest more than double the amount needed for the next beer.
Some say not to reuse yeast from a high gravity brew, but some say it has not been a problem for them. This will be another question to pursue while this one is fermenting.

 

[Merlinus]

After the wort clears take the SG reading. It would be better to delay your brew day than having an incomplete starter resulting in an under pitch.

After you brew this beer, harvest the yeast. You will be able to harvest more than double the amount needed for the next beer.
Some say not to reuse yeast from a high gravity brew, but some say it has not been a problem for them. This will be another question to pursue while this one is fermenting.

ok, tomorrow i will use a sanitized funnel to pour some wort into my test tube and take a reading, will let you know. thanks

 

[Merlinus]

i just did a reading, and tbh is not looking good. 1039-1040 gravity. what can i do ? what did i do wrong ? or the yeast was dead ?

 

[flars]

No fermentation at all. Let it warm up to room temperature, swirl up the yeast and put it back on the stir plate. Yeast may not be dead, but has a long, long lag time to get started.
Brew day may be delayed until next week, unless you can find a dry yeast substitute.

 

[Merlinus]

No fermentation at all. Let it warm up to room temperature, swirl up the yeast and put it back on the stir plate. Yeast may not be dead, but has a long, long lag time to get started.
Brew day may be delayed until next week, unless you can find a dry yeast substitute.

ok. should i decant it and make a new starter with light dme ? Or use the same starter ? if i use the same starter, can i put it direct from fridge to the stir plate and let it get to room temperature on the stir plate ?

 

[Merlinus]

i think i have some good news, i moved the stir plate in my room, which is warmer (21-22 degrees celsius), also i put a towel on the erlenmeyer glass, to keep it a little warmer. i starter the stir plate ast night around 2-3 a clock, and now it has a little foam, and its bubbling a lot.

 

[Merlinus]

here it how is looking now: www.escapismmusique.ro/P1190094.MOV

it has 36 hours on stir plate, but maybe 30 since fermentation started.

 

[Merlinus]

after few hours in the refrigerator

 

[Merlinus]

after all it went good ! the starter had a FG of 1008 (initial was 1040), i brewed the dubbel today, already after 4 hours it shows signs that its starting to ferment.

tomorrow ill brew the tripel. i will keep you updated how the attenuation will go

thanks everyone for the help !