I brewed a 3 gallon batch of Weizenbock yesterday. Anticipating an OG around 1.080, I decided to build a starter from my smack pack of Wyeast 3638. I took the yeast out of the refrigerator at around noon on Saturday and broke the nutrient package before leaving the house to visit a friend. Unfortunately, the visit lasted much longer than expected. When I got home, the package had swelled fully but I wasn't ready with the wort for the starter. So I put the yeast back into the refrigerator in its still-sealed package and quickly boiled 3/4 liter of water with about 3 oz of DME. I then put the flask into the refrigerator as well, with the intent of pitching the yeast into the starter before going to sleep.
So of course, my first thought on waking the next morning was "Oh crap, I forgot to pitch the yeast." I quickly removed everything from the fridge, sprayed the smack pack with some StarSan, gave it a good shake and then added it to the flask. But after six hours on the stir plate, there was still no visible activity in the starter.
By that time, I'd finished boiling and cooling the wort, and it turned out that I had an OG of only 1.067. I decided that there was nothing to be gained by waiting any longer for the starter, particularly given the lower gravity of the wort -- so I did.
It's now been almost 20 hours, and there's no sign of activity in the fermenter. While I know it's possible that I haven't waited long enough, the lack of activity in the starter makes me thing that I've probably killed the yeast. My previous starters (admittedly, with other strains) have all reacted much more quickly.
Could I be wrong about that?
And if not, what's likely to be the mistake I made that killed the yeast? I'm assuming, of course, that the swelling of the smack pack was sufficient evidence of the yeast's previous viability.
So of course, my first thought on waking the next morning was "Oh crap, I forgot to pitch the yeast." I quickly removed everything from the fridge, sprayed the smack pack with some StarSan, gave it a good shake and then added it to the flask. But after six hours on the stir plate, there was still no visible activity in the starter.
By that time, I'd finished boiling and cooling the wort, and it turned out that I had an OG of only 1.067. I decided that there was nothing to be gained by waiting any longer for the starter, particularly given the lower gravity of the wort -- so I did.
It's now been almost 20 hours, and there's no sign of activity in the fermenter. While I know it's possible that I haven't waited long enough, the lack of activity in the starter makes me thing that I've probably killed the yeast. My previous starters (admittedly, with other strains) have all reacted much more quickly.
Could I be wrong about that?
And if not, what's likely to be the mistake I made that killed the yeast? I'm assuming, of course, that the swelling of the smack pack was sufficient evidence of the yeast's previous viability.