Can a starter be done in 8 hours?

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I made a starter of older yeast last week, 1 liter, and when done cold crashed. Today I decanted the spent wort off the yeast and added another 1 liter. According to calculations this should get me to my pitching rate. Now, 8 hours later on a stirplate, it has started fermentation, moved through and past high krausen, and airlock activity has slowed considerably. Is this an extremely robust starter, or are these signs of something wrong? Wyeast 2308


"Sometimes Im right half of the time..."

 

[seabass07]

If its warm that's entirely possible. I got in the habit of making starters in the morning and brewing in the afternoon. The krausen would rise and fall several hours before I pitched. I moved a few months ago and the new place is much colder, so that method does not work at all anymore. It takes 12 hours for the krausen to start forming now.

 

[Cyclman]

You want oxygen in a starter, not an airlock. http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2013/03/19/access-to-air-and-its-effect-on-yeast-growth-in-starters/

Even if it appears done, if you have the time I'd leave it spinning, it can't hurt.

 

[brettg20]

If you have the time I would leave it for a little longer

 

[kh54s10]

First of all you do not want an airlock on a starter. Your aim is to increase the cell count. Oxygen is important for this. An airlock blocks the introduction of oxygen. Second you will get very different signs from a starter than a beer. I often see no krausen on my starters etc. You are also not interested in fermentation. 18-24 hours on a stirplate is normal. I would not skimp on the timing based on visible signs.

I don't know what you mean by "robust starter". If you mean that it is a high gravity starter you are not doing the optimum. Starters of about 1.038 to 1.040 are best for the yeast. Higher stresses the cells, lower inhibits reproduction.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

If its warm that's entirely possible. I got in the habit of making starters in the morning and brewing in the afternoon. The krausen would rise and fall several hours before I pitched. I moved a few months ago and the new place is much colder, so that method does not work at all anymore. It takes 12 hours for the krausen to start forming now.

This was, admitedly, and older batch of yeast. Mfg date was 23DEC13. Based on the Brewers Friend calculations, I needed 2 steps to get the cell count I needed for a half batch of lager (2.5 gallons). The first step was, by all accounts, what I have seen before (at around 70 deg), Its this 2nd step in the stirplate that progressed so quickly (at around 78 deg).


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

You want oxygen in a starter, not an airlock. http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2013/03/19/access-to-air-and-its-effect-on-yeast-growth-in-starters/

Even if it appears done, if you have the time I'd leave it spinning, it can't hurt.

I really appreciate the article reference. I recall reading somewhere else the importance of using sanitized aluminum foil on the starter and I think now I will turn to that versus an airlock. Good thing is, I prob wont need to pitch this til Monday morn, so I can cold crash it Sun night and have a pretty solid yeast cake to decant the spent wort off of.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

If you have the time I would leave it for a little longer

Absolutely, sounds like a good plan.


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

First of all you do not want an airlock on a starter. Your aim is to increase the cell count. Oxygen is important for this. An airlock blocks the introduction of oxygen. Second you will get very different signs from a starter than a beer. I often see no krausen on my starters etc. You are also not interested in fermentation. 18-24 hours on a stirplate is normal. I would not skimp on the timing based on visible signs.

I don't know what you mean by "robust starter". If you mean that it is a high gravity starter you are not doing the optimum. Starters of about 1.038 to 1.040 are best for the yeast. Higher stresses the cells, lower inhibits reproduction.

By robust, I was jus referring to the time it took when I started seeing activity. In this second step, I had airlock activity in 45 min after introducing new wort. Very healthy yeast I think!


"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[seabass07]

What everyone said about the airlock. Just use sanitized foil. I missed that part.