Infected Starter>?

[zippybasher]

OK, from the start:

ºI bought a bottle of Stone Enjoy By: Unfiltered. Grew the dregs for 5 weeks stepping up as needed. No stir plate, just casual swirling daily.
ºThe yeast would blow through the starter wort pretty quick, dropping and leaving a crystal clear golden starter. ( I used amber DME) It always smelled good/normal when I shook it and smelled the off-gassing.
ºFinally I had a good amount of yeast and pitched it into a 5gal batch. (its fermenting now in a SS pot, so I cant see what it looks like)
º I had the flask uncovered for maybe 5 minutes after pitching and before deciding to grow the yeast some more.
ºI left a TINY amount of yeast in the flask and put 1.2Litre of starter wort on top to regrow the yeast. (ran out of Amber and used Pilsner DME this time)
ºIts been working the Pilsner starter for about 5 days now.

Weird Part and Question:

ºAfter 2 days or so, when I swirl the flask, I get a HUGE amount of foam inside. So much so, that it almost foams over, (I've had a foamy starter before, but the initial step-ups with this yeast didn't foam nearly as much)
ºAnd the Kicker, the offgassing smells really Belgiany (not just yeasty) and I am not sure if this is from the Pilsner DME or some wild yeast. (I don't make pilsners, so am unfamiliar with the smells)
ºAlso, it is not dropping clear as fast, (just starting to drop after 9 days) but that could be from a small yeast count in a big starter.

SOOO Does Pilsner DME Starter ever smell like a Belgian, even with a neutral American yeast?
Or could they be stressing and cause a Belgian Smell? Temp is ~65ºF

I wont dump it, as it doesn't smell bad at all. But I think a 1gal *TEST* batch is in order to see if I caught something wild.

Anyone ever make a hopped starter to get a taste of yeast flavor/contributions?

I know this is long a drawn out, but I appreciate any feedback.

Thank you, Zippy.

 

[LLBeanJ]

My guess is the Belgian-like character is due to stressed yeast. Cold crash for a day, pour off a little bit of the starter beer and give it a taste. If it tastes okay, then it should be good to pitch. I've had a couple starters go bad and they were clearly detectable upon tasting the starter beer.

 

[Kate00]

I'm guessing you caught something wild, or made a mistake with sanitation.

I've never had a neutral yeast smell belgian. The yeasts I've used just smell like beer, or a yeasty version of the beer they're going to produce. British ale smells like an ale, american ale smells like a basic american ale. Lager yeasts will smell clean, but usually have a slight sulfur smell because I don't use temperature control on starters. By the time I crash and decant lager yeast the sulfur smell goes away. The belgian yeasts and saisons are the only ones that have a belgian smell.

Anyways... I smell all of my starters before I pitch, and if they smell "off" at all, I'll dump them and do another starter. I've only had to dump a starter once, and there were no issues with the wort sitting for an extra day or two waiting for yeast to get going.

Edit: I keep my starters in areas that have an ambient temp. in the mid to high 60's. I try not to go too hot or cold.

 

[zippybasher]

Well, its finally dropped clear @ 11 days. But it still has that "Pink Bubblegum" smell that I associate with Belgian yeasts. BTW, it grew ALOT of yeast for a single step up.

Still cant say one way or another if it is wild yeast or stress. But it doesn't look Infected by a lacto or anything. So...

Guess its time for a mini batch, I don't want to just taste the starter as that has been shook to hell and back with NO hops. I never taste my starters for this reason. IMO, I don't think it represents the yeast well.

To be honest, I am kinda hoping I got a wild one in there. It could be my new "HOUSE" yeast, literally.

Will update...

 

[m00ps]

Well, its finally dropped clear @ 11 days. But it still has that "Pink Bubblegum" smell that I associate with Belgian yeasts. BTW, it grew ALOT of yeast for a single step up.

Still cant say one way or another if it is wild yeast or stress. But it doesn't look Infected by a lacto or anything. So...

Guess its time for a mini batch, I don't want to just taste the starter as that has been shook to hell and back with NO hops. I never taste my starters for this reason. IMO, I don't think it represents the yeast well.

To be honest, I am kinda hoping I got a wild one in there. It could be my new "HOUSE" yeast, literally.

Will update...

I taste every starter I make to ensure its not infected and because it gives a very good idea of what the yeast is like. You just have to become more familiar what a unhopped, oxidized, low OG beer tastes like. Even something clean like US-05 is going to be kinda fruity or tart in a starter

 

[zippybasher]

And to put an end to this thread. I must have caught something wild. Remember this came from a Stone Enjoy By, which has no discernible Belgian traits.
The red ale was taste tested last night and it is very Belgian like. Had a buddy try it and he thought I brewed a Belgian on purpose. Not a bad beer, but not what I was going for either.
I will be canning this one to save for a future brew. I actually like it more than some Belgian yeasts I have purchased.
In the Red ale, it is masking a lot of Hop character, {the other 5gallon got Vermont Ale yeast (Giga)}.
This yeast would be great in a light beer, something like a mildly hopped Wit. Which is exactly what it will be made into in the future. Maybe ill split it; 5gallon with a neutral yeast (Pacman) and some citrus zest and the other 5gallon with the new "House Belgian" yeast.

If that comes out well, I will update once more. Thanks!

Cheers!