My yeast starters seem to suck....

[pnj]

I've done a starter for the last three batches of beer I've made. I've used a smack pack that swelled fine (telling me the yeast was good), boiled a cup of DME and a few quarts or so of water for 15 minutes. I did this 24 hours before I pitched it into my wort.

I was under the impression that a starter would start working quicker once pitched. I don't see activity for at least 24 hours with my starters, once pitched.

My wort is 64 degrees, so I'm guessing that is why I see a lag?

I'm not worried, I'm relaxed , not drinking cause it's only 7:00AM though..

thoughts/suggestions?

 

[TipsyDragon]

just curious what was the temp of the starter before you pitched the yeast into it? and what was the temp of the starter before you pitched the it into the wart? the starter and wart should be as close as passable in temp. otherwise the yeast go into thermal shock and wont do much till they adjust.

also was there a nice thick layer of yeast at the bottom of your starter jug? the thicker they layer the better. it may take a couple of repetitions on the starter process to get a good amount of yeast going. repeat the starter making process every few days, using the yeast from the previous starter of course, till you get what you think is a crap load of yeast. that's usually more than enough. starve the yeast for a day before adding to the wart. this makes them hungry and they get to work faster. but don't wait more than 2 days before adding the starter to the wart. the yeast have some food stored up and if you wait to long they eat that all up and go into hibernation and have to start over again before they can start fermenting your wart.

 

[Trencher]

Agreed, your starter may have lagged a bit for some reason. You should at least see a thin krausen ring around the sides of your starter vessel, and a large thick cake of yeast at the bottom. One sure way to see if the starter has begun fermenting is to swirl it some and get the yeast roused into suspension. If the yeast is active you'll see some foaming in the starter wort.

Have you checked the SG of your starter? I've had trouble with lag in the past when making my starter of too high a gravity. Next time take a sample of the starter and make sure it's around 1.035.

Also, what was the gravity of the brew? Higher gravity beers will require more yeast, so you need to step up the cell count with 2-3 additions of starter wort.

 

[ajf]

See MB Raines, Ph.D. - Guide to Yeast Culturing for Homebrewers - Maltose Falcons Home Brewing Society (Los Angeles Homebrewing)
This article gives a lot of great information on making starters. I'd be surprised if this article doesn't answer your question.

-a.

 

[pnj]

well, the starter was room temp when I pitched it. Room temp is 60 and the wort was 64.
The starter had a large yeast cake on the bottom, but didn't have much of a krausen.

The airlock started bubbling yesterday, bubbled for maybe 10 hours and now is completly inactive.

The krausen in my primary was less then two inches high. There's no way I'd need a blow off tube...

:/

 

[Clonefarmer]

Use tinfoil on the starter instead of an airlock. If you don't have a stirplate, swirl the starter often.

 

[pnj]

The rubber stopper doesn't fit my bottle tightly, so I imagine it's loose like tinfoil. I shook/swirled very often.

 

[davesrose]

Did you oxygenate the wort? I find my fermentations start in just a couple or so hours if I use both a starter and oxygenated wort.

 

[BeerPressure]

One cup of DME and a few quarts of water? I would start by measuring the water and DME more precisely. Man Skirt Brewing Co. there is a starter calculator on that site.

I used to just estimate my DME and water and sometimes i couldnt even tell it was working because i had too much water and not enough DME.

 

[CharlosCarlies]

The krausen in my primary was less then two inches high. There's no way I'd need a blow off tube...

I wouldn't worry ab that at all. Over 25+ brews, I've never had a blow off even w/ a couple of 1.070ish beers. Now obviously after saying that my next brew will and I'll have to eat my words.

Use tinfoil on the starter instead of an airlock. If you don't have a stirplate, swirl the starter often.

Good advice.

I did this 24 hours before I pitched it into my wort.

24 hours is usually enough, but I had a kolsch starter that didn't show any visible activity for the first 12-18 hours. You might try letting the starter go 48 hours just to be sure it takes off.

 

[Snafu]

I've been told that simply measuring DME will cause a wide variation on OG's. Its much better to weigh your DME, aiming for .030-40 You will see very little action, if you don't have a stir plate just swirl it up everytime you walk by it , it will be fine. The starter I just used went active in just 6 hours.

 

[pnj]

well, after reading around I think my main issue was my starter being too cold. 70 seems to be a good temp (there or about) but mine was closer to lower 60's.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Mr Malty has everything you need to know about starters. I have made 4 starters to date, and only one had krauesen. Swirl your starter as often as possible and shake the crap outta it to aerate before and after pitching the yeast. Definitely try to pitch at the same temp as the wort. I always pitch at about 70, and then bring the temp of the primary down to fermentation temps. Never had a lag longer than 6 hours.

I exclusively use White Labs yeast, they rock!