Noob with a yeast problem

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Mr_IC

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First time brewing solo.

My grandpa taught me to brew about 10 years ago. He had been brewing about 30 years by then. I took detailed notes on the whole process (all grain). I haven't brewed on my own since then. When he passed away in October, I inherited all his brewing supplies and recipes. Built a new mash/lauter tun last week and took tomorrow off work to brew his favorite altbier, which I have brewed with him and have good notes on it.

Here's the problem: my notes said to make the yeast starter 2 days before brew day which would mean yesterday to brew tomorrow. I followed the directions last night (pretty sure), but whether it was me screwing up, or bad yeast, or whatever, I got home this afternoon and the yeast isn't doing anything.

Question: are there any options for me to get the yeast going on brew day since the brew shops are closed? Buy more packs of yeast maybe?
 
First of all very sorry for your loss! I lost my grandfather 13 years ago this August and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him.

As for your question a picture would definitely help determine what's going on with your yeast. Was it dry or liquid yeast? Since making a starter I would assume it's liquid...dry yeast doesn't need a starter just a nice cup of warm water or cooled wort to wake it up to get it going.

Remember if you're doing a starter without a stir plate you need to swirl the starter every so often to get some O2 in there.
 
You always have the option of just pitching 2 or 3 packs to get the yeast cell count you need. If your using liquid, each pack has about 100 billion cells, depending on your original gravity, you may want 2 or maybe 3.

Are you using a stir plate? If so, there is a good possibility that the yeast has already done what its needed to do, i have often wondered if i had bad yeast, but after cold crashing and looking, there wqs definitely growth, so it happened when i wasnt looking, and with a stir plate, you wont see a krausen.

What yeast are you using?
 
For an Alt I would think 2 packets of liquid yeast is plenty. I would add your current starter as scheduled, then pick up a new packet of yeast when the shop opens and just add it to the fermenter right out of the packet, no starter.

Was your starter warm enough?

EDIT: don't cold crash the starter, just add the entire quantity to the fermenter
 
Sorry to hear of your grandfather's passing. It is great that you would brew in memoriam to him.

The yeast may be slow to wake uo. It has happened to me a couple of times and I just waited an extra day. Do a step up and add some more wort 18-24 hours after you began. Yeast will surprise you!

I typically wait to pitch about 12 hours after cooling so you have some time if you need it.

Or you could pitch a couple of fresh packs of yeast. I vote for waiting...
 
Doing this from my phone, so hopefully the pic uploaded correctly.

First, thank you all for the input!

Here's the process I went through for my starter. Probably any number of items were wrong.

Used Wyeast 1007. Had a smack pack, but grandpa never used smack packs, so I tossed it since I was just using the yeast and feeding it otherwise.

Starter was a pint of filtered water and 1/3 cup DME. Let it cool to less than 80 degrees then added 1/4 tsp Fermax yeast nutrient. Added the yeast. Capped it, shook the heck out of it to get oxygen in then put on the fermentation lock.

Notes said keep it close to 80 degrees, top of the fridge was the only thing I could think of. Saw a few bubbles before bed. Got up the next morning and saw basically what's in the picture, but cloudier. So I put it in a spare bedroom on a heater vent (forced air heat so doesn't actually get hot). Got home from work yesterday and looked a little less cloudy. Put it back on the fridge in case the vent was too warm and today everything has settled to the bottom.

One thing I discovered this morning is that the digital thermometer I was using is not working.

My sanitation was spot on, so I think it's one of the following:

1. Bad yeast
2. Really did need the smack pack
3. Starter wort was hotter than thermometer read
4. Heater vent was too hot

Based on your suggestions so far, I think I'm going to do the following:

Feed the starter and see if it gets going. Head to the brew shop and grab a couple packs of yeast. Wait 12 hours after I sparge to pitch the yeast. If the starter is working, use it. If not, add the yeast in the packs.

Before I feed the starter, should I drain off the clear liquid (alcohol?)
 
Firstly, I will parrot the rest of the posters and tell you how sorry I am for your loss. My grandpa passed last June and it really is hard. Its nice you can do something to remember him by.

Second. How old was the yeast? It wasnt left over from your grandpas kit right? Could be old/bad yeast at that point. Also, starters can be at whatever temp. Its not like normal fermentation since you will most likely decant the starter liquid you dont care about off flavors. So room temp is just fine for the starter. Doesnt need to be at 80 (that might actually be a little too warm for the yeast). When you say you put the fermentation lock on, do you mean airlock? Cuz with a starter its advised to leave it "open" so the yeast can get as much O2 as possible. Most of us sanitize a piece of foil and tightly wrap it around the top of the flask. I think you are right though to pitch this yeast and see what happens. I typically dont get a ton of activity in my starters but I know theyre working, so chances are, youre fine. Good luck with the rest of the brew!! Keep posting questions :mug:
 
Look up Vitality starter on Brulosophy.com. It may fit perfectly for your situation.

1 pint starters are a bit small. 1.5 - 2 liter is more common for a 5 gallon batch.
See Yeastcalc.com
 
If your LHBS has it you might want to consider throwing in a pack of K-97 dry German ale yeast. I used it in my last alt with pretty good results.
 
Thank you all for the advice. I wound up getting more yeast, but also drained the beer off the starter and added more starter wort to it. This time capped it with aluminum foil. It took off great and I wound up using it to pitch.

I made a couple mistakes that will probably affect the finished product, but it should still be drinkable. Got stuck in Seattle traffic when I went to get the yeast so it mashed for an extra half hour, wound up letting it cool after the boil for an hour instead of half an hour, and didn't measure starting volume before boil, so had to guess how much water to add back. But it's fermenting away so at least it's not a total failure. Trying to decide if I should bottle it or keg it when it's ready.

View attachment 1489263057456.jpg
 
Thank you all for the advice. I wound up getting more yeast, but also drained the beer off the starter and added more starter wort to it. This time capped it with aluminum foil. It took off great and I wound up using it to pitch.

I made a couple mistakes that will probably affect the finished product, but it should still be drinkable. Got stuck in Seattle traffic when I went to get the yeast so it mashed for an extra half hour, wound up letting it cool after the boil for an hour instead of half an hour, and didn't measure starting volume before boil, so had to guess how much water to add back. But it's fermenting away so at least it's not a total failure. Trying to decide if I should bottle it or keg it when it's ready.

I think you will be just fine. Sounds like it will be more than "drinkable". That being said... If you have the option to, keg it. Soooo much easier haha
 
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