Can infection come from a yeast starter ?
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ThunderpantsBrewing
Well-Known Member
Yes. And you can't know for sure, I suppose. Just check all steps in your process to make sure your sanitation practices are good, and brew some beer. If everything is cleaned and sanitized, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
Not that it is a guarantee, but if you take really good precautions it is less like to infect a yeast starter than a batch of beer. Things to evaluate:
*Make sure you flask is absolutely clean (pbw or oxyclean soak) and rinse it well.
*I keep my flask and stirbar submerged in starsan until I need it. Don't rinse, just dump.
*I also throw scissors (if wyeast packet is used), funnel, and the pack of yeast itself in the starsan. I throw the foil I put on my starter in the starsan for a minute too before putting it on the starter.
*I bring my starter water to a boil in stainless pot. I add DME and boil for 10-12 minutes (I account for some boil off by starting with more water).
*When boil is done, I take pot and set it in a bigger pot of cold water. Change out for new cold water a couple times. Put some ice in the water the second or third time. Lid on the wort the whole time.
*Pull everything out of star san as I need it. WOrt and yeast into the flask. Foil on top.
Put on stir plate.
For me, one of the best indications that everything is "good" is that After a day you swirl up the starter and as it foams from CO2 coming out it smells "bready".
*Make sure you flask is absolutely clean (pbw or oxyclean soak) and rinse it well.
*I keep my flask and stirbar submerged in starsan until I need it. Don't rinse, just dump.
*I also throw scissors (if wyeast packet is used), funnel, and the pack of yeast itself in the starsan. I throw the foil I put on my starter in the starsan for a minute too before putting it on the starter.
*I bring my starter water to a boil in stainless pot. I add DME and boil for 10-12 minutes (I account for some boil off by starting with more water).
*When boil is done, I take pot and set it in a bigger pot of cold water. Change out for new cold water a couple times. Put some ice in the water the second or third time. Lid on the wort the whole time.
*Pull everything out of star san as I need it. WOrt and yeast into the flask. Foil on top.
Put on stir plate.
For me, one of the best indications that everything is "good" is that After a day you swirl up the starter and as it foams from CO2 coming out it smells "bready".
watermelon83
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You can save some of the decanted fremented wort. It won't taste like good beer, but an infection will probably be evident. Poured one made off can dregs the other day, sour, very sour. I swear I can still taste it. The drain drank that whole experiment.
I've had two batches lost that I attributed to a contaminated yeast starter.
The one I know for sure, as I felt the starter "wasn't quite right", but I used it anyway. I had made 10 gallons of wort, and pitched that starter in one fermenter and a different yeast in the other fermenter. After it was fermented out, I had major "band-aid" beer in one of the fermenters. The other was perfectly fine.
The other I just assumed was yeast related, years earlier.
The one I know for sure, as I felt the starter "wasn't quite right", but I used it anyway. I had made 10 gallons of wort, and pitched that starter in one fermenter and a different yeast in the other fermenter. After it was fermented out, I had major "band-aid" beer in one of the fermenters. The other was perfectly fine.
The other I just assumed was yeast related, years earlier.
nthammer
Well-Known Member
yooper can you explain what you mean by "wasn't quite right" and perhaps what you think would have caused it? I've made several starters and I guess they have all seemed routine so it might be easy to spot something being 'off'.
My process is almost the same as braufessor except I only boil for a couple minutes, if that, and I pour the boiling temperature wort into the flask immediately and cover, then let it cool in a waterbath and pitch. the flask can handle the temperatures
My process is almost the same as braufessor except I only boil for a couple minutes, if that, and I pour the boiling temperature wort into the flask immediately and cover, then let it cool in a waterbath and pitch. the flask can handle the temperatures
If you are using a pot to boil starter wort and then sit the pot in water to cool.. be sure to sanitize the outside of the pot before pouring the wort into the flask. The outside of the pot is no longer sanitary if you had it soaking in the sink with tap water. I keep my starsan spray bottle handy.
Another approach is to boil in the flask with the stir bar and foil on top of the flask. Just make sure to add some no-foam or the flask will boil over and be a huge mess. I love using this method as it eliminates multiple places that you could pick up bacteria. I boil for at least 5 minutes then throw the whole thing into an ice bath.
