First starter - is it bad?

[kenpotf]

All,

I did a starter last night with Wyeast 2565. From what I've read, it's not going to necessarily create krausen etc. I walked by and swirled it a little about every 15 minutes last night before I went to bed. This morning I woke up to find the cake at the bottom so I swirled it again. I swirled it hard enough to get the slurry to break up, but it also almost erupted like shaking up a beer. It's calmed down now, but is it ruined? I have a foam stopper on the flask.

Thanks!

 

[WiggStout1]

No not ruined that is normal, you usually won't see krausen using a stir plate, each time you shake it up it should bubble up exchanging oxygen and CO2. It is fine, means your yeast is active and well don't worry about it.

 

[kenpotf]

That's good Next question is that I made the starter last night (Friday) around 10:30PM. I won't be brewing until Sunday morning around 11am or noon. Do I need to throw the starter in the fridge tonight (Saturday) until Sunday, or should I leave it on the counter? The LHBS guy told me that I should make the starter 36 hours in advanced. I wanted to decant off the liquid, and I've read to do that you'd want to put it in the fridge, but I'm not sure if this is necessary?

 

[FB12]

What size starter, and what size batch? I usually cold crash over night & decant when pitching, but many brewers just dump it all in if it's 1 liter (give or take) in a five gal. batch. Again, i prefer not to put that in my wort, but many claim it doesn't affect the flavor.

 

[kenpotf]

It was a 1L starter for a 5 gallon batch of kolsch. I had planned to decant because I'm like you, I don't want to put it in there. Am I okay with keeping it on the counter until tomorrow, or should I go ahead and throw it in the fridge overnight to crash it?

 

[ScottG58]

I've pitched the whole thing. I've cold crashed. I don't think I could taste the difference in the beer if I took the Pepsi challenge.

 

[BigFloyd]

Since it's not a stir plate starter (which get ready quicker), you want to let it culture for 24-30 hours. Keep swirling it every time you walk by.

Next time, get it going a day earlier so that you can give it a good 24+ hour crash.

 

[kh54s10]

If you want to decant it would be better to put it in the fridge. Overnight is enough usually. I usually decant when I start cooling and leave it on the counter until the wort is cool then pitch. I have read that you can decant then pitch right out of the refrigerator with no ill effects. I prefer to have the temperatures close.

Since it will only be 24 hours tonight I would recommend letting it ferment longer. If you brew late on Sunday you could cold crash starting Sunday morning and pitch in the evening. Otherwise pitch the whole thing. At 1 liter you will not have enough to mess up the beer.

 

[FB12]

I would shake it a couple more times today & put it in the fridge tonight if you want to decant. If you leave it at room temp until pitching, there may be quite a bit of yeast in suspension when you decant. You'll want all of those yeasties in there, especially if you're lagering (kolsch?) Hope you have enough cells! Good luck!

 

[kenpotf]

Hope you have enough cells! Good luck!

Uh oh...does a 1L starter not sound like enough? I'm worried about this because this beer was for a party in April. Of course, it's my first starter, my first kolsch, I'm considering using gelatin to clear it up and that's a first...everything seems like a 'first'.

 

[FB12]

If you're not lagering, you'll probably be ok. How old was the yeast? If it was about a month old, Mr. Malty suggests 182 billion cells for 1.052 OG. This would require a 2.4 liter starter. That assumes an ale fermented @ low 60's. I believe most people prefer to ferment Kolsch in the 50's- or lager it.

 

[kenpotf]

I just bought the yeast a couple of days ago and the date on it was late January, so I'm assuming a couple of weeks old. I planned on bringing the temp down on my fermentation chamber to 58-60. Then I was going to secondary it on top of gelatin and bring the temp down again in the fermentation chamber to 35 and let it sit for a few days. After it cleared up, I was going to move it to a keg until the party. What's a good pressure level for a kolsch? I normally serve at 12psi at 39 degrees and it seems ok for most beers. Also, should I secondary or just go straight to keg? The secondary just seems like an extra step to me.


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