Should I dump this starter and start over? Read on for the back story.
I've got a 1.8L 1st gen Yeast Bay VT Ale yeast starter in a 2L flask that's 15 hours on the stir plate. My previous starter from my 1st gen harvest of this same yeast had a very strong, but, pleasant fresh baked bread smell just like the original starter from the Yeast Bay vial. This starter, while I pick up hints of baked bread, has a strong plastic or latex smell. I tasted the starter and it doesn't taste like plastic or medicinal. The only difference with this starter is I put in "half" a drop (if that's even possible) from my squeeze bottle of 5 Star Defoamer 501 into the starter's wort boil to control boil over and krausen blow out which it did prevent. I also used 1/16 tsp of Wyeast yeast nutrient in the boil where previous starters I've used Diammonium Phosphate (LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient).
I had my wife smell it and she said it smells like bread to her and she didn't detect a plastic smell. She's not a beer aficionado nor had she smelled the previous starters for comparison.
I pitched 2 decanted half pint mason jars of slurry (approx. 10-15ml each). Both smelled fine with no signs of infection. One of my mason jars of yeast, which I dumped and pulled a 3rd jar out of the 'fridge, did have a gray ring around the outer threaded ring on jar and a gray "speck" under the lid. I immediately poured that one down the drain and pulled the third jar.
See attached photos of current starter sans krausen and the previous starter of same generation yeast slurry with krausen blowout both at about the 18 hour mark. The difference in color is due to different DME. First photo is with Sparkling Amber DME and the second was with Golden Light DME.
I've already boiled up another starter (also used defoamer in) and waiting to cool in the event the consensus from this forum is "dump the starter and start over", thus, the mason jar of slurry (and my last one to boot) in first photo coming up to room temp.
I've got a 1.8L 1st gen Yeast Bay VT Ale yeast starter in a 2L flask that's 15 hours on the stir plate. My previous starter from my 1st gen harvest of this same yeast had a very strong, but, pleasant fresh baked bread smell just like the original starter from the Yeast Bay vial. This starter, while I pick up hints of baked bread, has a strong plastic or latex smell. I tasted the starter and it doesn't taste like plastic or medicinal. The only difference with this starter is I put in "half" a drop (if that's even possible) from my squeeze bottle of 5 Star Defoamer 501 into the starter's wort boil to control boil over and krausen blow out which it did prevent. I also used 1/16 tsp of Wyeast yeast nutrient in the boil where previous starters I've used Diammonium Phosphate (LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient).
I had my wife smell it and she said it smells like bread to her and she didn't detect a plastic smell. She's not a beer aficionado nor had she smelled the previous starters for comparison.
I pitched 2 decanted half pint mason jars of slurry (approx. 10-15ml each). Both smelled fine with no signs of infection. One of my mason jars of yeast, which I dumped and pulled a 3rd jar out of the 'fridge, did have a gray ring around the outer threaded ring on jar and a gray "speck" under the lid. I immediately poured that one down the drain and pulled the third jar.
See attached photos of current starter sans krausen and the previous starter of same generation yeast slurry with krausen blowout both at about the 18 hour mark. The difference in color is due to different DME. First photo is with Sparkling Amber DME and the second was with Golden Light DME.
I've already boiled up another starter (also used defoamer in) and waiting to cool in the event the consensus from this forum is "dump the starter and start over", thus, the mason jar of slurry (and my last one to boot) in first photo coming up to room temp.
