Created yeast starter and it's gray!

[njohnsoncs]

I've made yeast starters before and they always have a light brown color. However, yesterday I made one (Wyeast 2278) and it has a nasty dark gray color. The only thing I did different this time was us RO water instead of tap water and use a new pot from the store which I rinsed out with water but didn't clean with soap.

I think the DME I used is OK. It was in a sealed ziplock bag and I didn't notice anything odd about it; it wasn't damp and had a typical smell. I did boil the wort for about 30 minutes instead of my usualy 10-15 because the OG was too high and I had to add some more water.

Any ideas what caused this? Is it OK to use or should I dump it?

Here's a picture:

 

[bradccook]

Your new pot most likely.

 

[WBB]

I would dump it and chalk it up to user error. You don’t want to keep thinking about it all the way until you’re about to take that first sip. Probably from the pot and going so long on the boil. I go 10 min boil for yeast starter DME.

What kind of pot?

 

[tripeland]

Did you take the pot off the heat when you added the extract? Was the bottom of the pot burnt?

 

[day_trippr]

I don't know what could cause such a dark murky result - which would leave me inclined to dump it and start another starter. Yeast may not be cheap but it's cheaper than dumping an entire batch of beer.

fwiw, how I make a starter:

- bring water just to a boil in big pot
- take pot off stove and place in sink
- add DME carefully while stirring to avoid foam-over
- once all DME is dissolved, put lid on pot, fill sink with cold water
- stir periodically with sanitized spoon until it's at pitching temperature; change water if necessary (it usually is as I typically do 5 liter starters).
- pour into e-flask and add yeast

No boiling DME at all as it's unnecessary - there's more than enough heat and time in the first few minutes the DME is exposed to the boiled water to sanitize the wort as much as actual boiling would do. It'd take a pressure cooker to do any better, but that'd be crazy

Also, straight RO or DI water aren't the best choices for starter wort. Unless one's tap water is truly fugly stuff it'd be the better option...

Cheers!