Lactobacillus starter question

[brewerJase]

So I plan on brewing a berliner weisse tomorrow. So last weekend I made a starter as usual and pitched the lactobacillus culture into it. It has been about 6 day and it dosnt seem.to be doin much, if anything.
This is my first time using lacto, so I'm not sure what I should be expecting.
Is this normal?
The lactobacillus pack I had was about 6 months old, could this be a factor?
And help and insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

So I plan on brewing a berliner weisse tomorrow. So last weekend I made a starter as usual and pitched the lactobacillus culture into it. It has been about 6 day and it dosnt seem.to be doin much, if anything.
This is my first time using lacto, so I'm not sure what I should be expecting.
Is this normal?
The lactobacillus pack I had was about 6 months old, could this be a factor?
And help and insight is greatly appreciated.

What lacto strain/source are you using? What was the souring temp? How long did you let the starter go for?

For the bugs to work at a decent pace you've got to keep things in their favored temp range. With a pack that old the starter could have probably used a few extra days but getting the temps dialed in really makes a world of difference.

 

[brewerJase]

I used wyeast 5335 lactobacillus. Temp has been room temp of around 75f. It's been going for 6 days.
I just cleared a beer out of my fermentation fridge. So I'll stick the starter in there and warm it up.
90f should be good or should I go higher?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I used wyeast 5335 lactobacillus. Temp has been room temp of around 75f. It's been going for 6 days.
I just cleared a beer out of my fermentation fridge. So I'll stick the starter in there and warm it up.
90f should be good or should I go higher?

That sounds about right from what I remember. Ive never used that strain so I'd double check its preferred temp range but most lacto is pretty happy working between 90-110f.

Some semi related questions.... What do you have the starter in? Flask? If so does it have an airlock on it? You want to minimize oxygen exposure to the lacto as much as possible or they'll produce some horrid stuff. Even opening the starter too often to smell it can be enough so having extra patience really helps when messing with bugs. I know the first time through you've gotta be a little more hands on though until you figure things out.

 

[Morrey]

I used wyeast 5335 lactobacillus. Temp has been room temp of around 75f. It's been going for 6 days.
I just cleared a beer out of my fermentation fridge. So I'll stick the starter in there and warm it up.
90f should be good or should I go higher?

I do Gose beers and use WLP672 Lacto which is close kin to your Wyeast strain. I had heard all along to build a starter before kettle souring so I did. 100F a few days NO STIR PLATE. Airlock on flask. Don't expect to see krausen activity as seen when you do a yeast starter. The activity is minimally seen if at all. I think you may be ok after 6 days at 75F.

THEN I had a professional sour brewer tell me I was wasting my time building a starter. He was right. But in your case you are ensuring an adequate cell count so good move.

If your lacto is fresher next time, you can pitch direct and expect similar souring timeline results w/o the muss and fuss of an extra step.

 

[brewerJase]

I do Gose beers and use WLP672 Lacto which is close kin to your Wyeast strain. I had heard all along to build a starter before kettle souring so I did. 100F a few days NO STIR PLATE. Airlock on flask. Don't expect to see krausen activity as seen when you do a yeast starter. The activity is minimally seen if at all. I think you may be ok after 6 days at 75F.

THEN I had a professional sour brewer tell me I was wasting my time building a starter. He was right. But in your case you are ensuring an adequate cell count so good move.

If your lacto is fresher next time, you can pitch direct and expect similar souring timeline results w/o the muss and fuss of an extra step.

Good info for the future. Thank you.

I warmed the starter up to 100f for a little over 24 hrs befor pitching. I tasted the lacto starter and it did taste quite sour/tart. So I guess I should be good.