How long do YOU let your yeast starters ferment?

[monkeymath]

now I am bringing up a dead thread.

... and with an entirely different question.
Schedule the brew day according to the yeast, not your plans.
(I just recently ignored this advice myself and ended up dumping an entire batch and performing a major exorcism on my fermenter. Both of which are not particularly fun.)

 

[Knkbrand]

... and with an entirely different question.

Not really, the original question was how long to let a starter go before pitching. There was a post above from white labs that said 18-24 hours. so my question is the same, do i pitch after 24 hours with no signs of visible fermentation like suggested by white labs, or wait until I see activity. Sounds like the same question as the original post....how long to let your starter go?

 

[V-Fib]

Hopefully it takes off soon for you. Normally I keep mine on a stir plate over night, turn off the stir plate in the morning, let it sit at room temp till night then put it in the fridge to help everything settle. I can't say I've ever took a gravity reading but in there are color changes that should happen to give you an idea if things have fermented.

You can always start you starter a day or two earlier if you have fridge space to give them plenty of time to do their thing so your not so dependent on their time schedule.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

is the yeast you pitched past date? if it sat around for awhile then it may take a little more time to take off, you still have some time for it to do so. if you use a stir plate put it back on, if not try to swirl as often as possible and see what happens in the next couple hours. if your dead set on brewing tomorrow then try to get to your lhbs and grab 2 packs of fresh yeast to pitch instead of 1. thats my 2cents.

cheers

 

[Knkbrand]

is the yeast you pitched past date? if it sat around for awhile then it may take a little more time to take off, you still have some time for it to do so. if you use a stir plate put it back on, if not try to swirl as often as possible and see what happens in the next couple hours. if your dead set on brewing tomorrow then try to get to your lhbs and grab 2 packs of fresh yeast to pitch instead of 1. thats my 2cents.

cheers

The date is 01/31/21, so close. it is on the stir plate, I will check it when I get home from work. When I searched looking for answers to such a long lag time on a starter, I saw that video from white Labs, and It made me question my past practices. I don't think I have ever made a starter and pitched in less than 24 hours. Guess I'll wait and see what is going on tonight. Thanks for your suggestion.

 

[tracer bullet]

I normally start my starter 2 nights before brewing. The night before brewing I chill it in the frig (24 hrs later). The next morning I take it out, decant, and let it warm itself to be pitched later that day.

In all but 1 case it's worked great, tons of yeast activity. The last brew day a few weeks ago, for the first time, I got nothing. I pitched it anyway, figuring it'd eventually go. 24 hours later, still nothing. So I threw some S-05 in instead, and of course it took off as expected. (I highly recommend having some dry yeast on hand at all times as a backup).

And, for the first time, I have sulfur flavored stout. I'm letting it go longer hoping it'll work out, but I think it was the "dead" yeast. I won't do that again. I'd suggest if at all possible hit the LHBS and get more yeast and pop it right away, check if it's working or just pick up some dry yeast. Hope you have that option.

 

[Knkbrand]

I do have a packet of s23 as a back up if need be. Hopefully I will come home from work to a bubbly starter. thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Knkbrand]

36 hours after starter pitch, and there is good signs of fermentation!!! woohoo! gravity is 1.027, so it is moving. I hope the lag time in the starter doesn't effect the yeast too much. I am going to push my brew date back to Sunday.

 

[Reneauj62]

My rule of thumb is... when the yeast has a krausen and it goes back into the slurry, then I add 4-6 hrs. Not all yeast will have a krausen so, it that case, I go 48 hrs and never had a problem. I also overbuild every time so I keep my yeast bank fresh and if I have any issues I just add more yeast as needed.