Quick Starter Question

[jay_mack1]

This is my starter. I worked it up on Sunday.

16 ounces of water and 1/2 cup of DME, boiled for 10 minutes and then cooled, pitched the yeast into the starter, shaked and stirred.

In note, this yeast is about a year old. I've never done a starter, so I wanted some opinion on my photo. Is this what a starter is supposed to look like, didn't get much of any activity.

I was thinking about feeding the starter again tonight. Same dosage.

Would love some input!

 

[guazzabuglio]

If you didn't get any activity, then I'd say chuck it. If you got some activity (just not a lot) I'd recommend trying to build up the starter in steps. Make some fresh wort and chill it as per usual. Dump the old starter wort (without disturbing the yeast) and then pour the yeast cake into your new wort. Shake to aerate, and either put it on a stir plate or give it a good swirl every time you walk by it, and see if you have more activity.

 

[poislb]

When was the pic taken? An hour after pitch or 24/48 hours? Usually you would see nothing but white on the bottom, but in your case I see a thin layer of yeast and a lot of break or trub material on the bottom. Was this washed yeast or from a packet, dry or liquid? Not really suppose to do a starter with dry yeast but that's another subject.

There's not a whole lot of yeast sitting there,my suggestion would be to do a cold crash, decant and add more wort and hope for the best.

 

[jay_mack1]

When was the pic taken? An hour after pitch or 24/48 hours? Usually you would see nothing but white on the bottom, but in your case I see a thin layer of yeast and a lot of break or trub material on the bottom. Was this washed yeast or from a packet, dry or liquid? Not really suppose to do a starter with dry yeast but that's another subject.

There's not a whole lot of yeast sitting there,my suggestion would be to do a cold crash, decant and add more wort and hope for the best.

I started this on Sunday, so its 48 hours old. This was from a Wyeast pack that I have been storing in my fridge, its about a year old.

 

[jay_mack1]

If you didn't get any activity, then I'd say chuck it. If you got some activity (just not a lot) I'd recommend trying to build up the starter in steps. Make some fresh wort and chill it as per usual. Dump the old starter wort (without disturbing the yeast) and then pour the yeast cake into your new wort. Shake to aerate, and either put it on a stir plate or give it a good swirl every time you walk by it, and see if you have more activity.

I wouldn't say I didn't get ANY activity, the airlock showed pressure from time to time. Or what I would call pressure. My DME is extra light, I probably should have pulled at SG on it?

Thanks for your help!

 

[guazzabuglio]

I'd give it a shot with a starter wort with a better OG (something around 1.040. I use 200g DME to 2 L of water, mixed and boiled for 10 minutes and cooled). Can't hurt.


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[jahdub]

You don't need an airlock for your starter

 

[jay_mack1]

You don't need an airlock for your starter

Is there a disadvantage to an airlock in place?

Thank you for everyone's help so far!

 

[poislb]

Is there a disadvantage to an airlock in place?

Thank you for everyone's help so far!

For a starter, you want to introduce it to oxygen.

 

[cjgenever]

Is there a disadvantage to an airlock in place?

Thank you for everyone's help so far!

Starters need o2 and yeast don't propagate as well under head pressure. I use an airlock with almost no liquid in it and introduce o2 via filtered air pump.

 

[jay_mack1]

Update: I cold crashed starter yesterday, 24 hours later its looks pretty much like the first picture. Its got a nice cream colored white layer on top of the brown layer.

I fed is s second time before I cold crashed it. I took the air lock off.

I am going to let it warm today and see what happens. Tonight when get home I will take a picture of it. I was thinking of brewing an extract beer on Monday, but if I can't get this yeast to function, I'll have to wait and order.

Thoughts?

 

[jahdub]

Yeast need oxygen to propagate. This is why you'll see people with their yeast starters on a stir plate. The stirring helps CO2 to escape and oxygen to dissolve into the starter. You can cover the mouth of your container with loosely fitting aluminum foil.

White labs has a 7 minute youtube video that explains proper starter technique, it is worth watching

I can't really explain the trub in the bottom of your vessel. You could try to pitch it as-is and see what happens.

If you need to brew monday, you could probably prepare another starter by making a 1.040 wort and decanting / pitching the starter you've currently got. Let that go for 24 hours or so and cold crash it overnight.

If you're worried about the viability of the yeast, it might be a good idea to start with a smaller (maybe 500mL) and 1.020 gravity wort. Let that ferment out, crash it, decant and step it up to your target starter size. You'd have to wait a couple extra days, though.

 

[jay_mack1]

An update on this:

Its looks much like it has since the day I started it. No change and no activity. I ordered new yeast today.

Thanks for the video, great information!

 

[jay_mack1]

So to update you all.. in case you cared...

The yeast never did take off.. and a new one was ordered. I brewed beer on Monday... pitched the yeast when I needed to and this morning it was bubbling away like mad...

In a few weeks when this goes into secondary

I am diving into all-grain!