Guidance on viability of Conan

[mjsawyer309]

Brewing a Centennial IPA today and hoping to pitch YG001's Conan strain. A buddy of mine harvested it in August and it's been on my stir plate for 12 hours. Since it was 8 months old- need an opinion if it's even worth pitching?

Not a ton of activity as you can see in the picture, but my starters have always been overly active so I'm worried. I've got some S05 as back-up, but....HELP?


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[BBL_Brewer]

Is that krausen do you think or just foam from a strong vortex? I don't get foam from my vortex, I don't spin very fast, so if I have foam on top I know it's krausen. Hard to tell from the picture what you've actually got going there. You probably know better than us how your process works and where you're at. Lots of condensation, so it looks like you've got activity. How does it smell? I recently had a similar dilemma with some harvested pacman. Just didn't seem to be acting normal in the starter. Went ahead and pitched and everything seems to have worked out.

 

[mjsawyer309]

Thanks- it looks like foam from a strong vortex, but a strong smell of yeast and the condensation makes me think it might work.

Do you foresee any problems pitching it and if no activity in a day or so, pitch some S05?

Really appreciate the reply.

Mike


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[Fermented_minds]

Just make sure you taste the starter and make sure there aren't any off flavors. You may want to run a mini test fermentation prior to using it in a larger batch to proof the yeast for off flavors, as well as attenuation.

If it doesn't work out, you can check out The Yeast Bay as well for a strain called Vermont Ale. It's a strain with similar characteristics from it's description.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Thanks- it looks like foam from a strong vortex, but a strong smell of yeast and the condensation makes me think it might work.

Do you foresee any problems pitching it and if no activity in a day or so, pitch some S05?

Really appreciate the reply.

Mike


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I think that would be ok. Just got with your gut and you should end up with some good beer.

 

[tagz]

You shouldn't have foam from the vortex after 12 hours. That's most likely co2 from fermentation. Whether it's a clean/healthy batch is unknown. Smell would give you the first hint. Conan smells like peaches and apricots in a starter. I also get a bready aroma on occasion.

 

[mjsawyer309]

Decided to pitch the S05 and not risk the Conan. After turning the stir plate way down, the foam disappeared which led me to believe that it wasn't Krausen. I didn't want to risk the batch.

Appreciate all the feedback.

-Mike