Keep slow starter?

[Fingers]

I started my Wyeast British Ale II two days before my brew day. On brew day there wasn't enough activity to pitch so I just used dry yeast. The starter is moving along now so I'm wondering if I should continue stepping it up and use for my brew day in two weeks or dump it.

I guess the real question is whether or not it's safe to use a stepped up starter that had so few viable cells left. How high is the risk that something other than the desired yeast strain has started in the flask? Since it's slow, is there an impact from having a large colony develop from a small sample?

 

[beerinthebloodco]

If you're seeing activity in the starter that means that the viable cells you had have replicated to good level.

I've grown up old yeast several times now and it can take a couple days to show activity. However it ferments out great after taking the time.

 

[Fingers]

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. I'll go ahead and keep stepping it up and then save it for the next two batches.

 

[beerinthebloodco]

That's the plan I went with the past couple brews. Yeast is incredibly resilient. Just give it some nutrient, some time and a sanitary place to grow!

 

[JohnSand]

I would try it on a single batch and taste that before re-using. Maybe even a one gallon batch, quick simple extract. Let us know what you do, and how it works.

 

[Fingers]

It's a week later and no real activity. It's going down the drain. I'll pick up another pack on Tuesday for next week's brew. I need another stir bar anyway.