Starter should take how long?

[pretzelb]

How long should it take before you see activity on a starter? I made my first last night with 1.5 L of water and 150g of DME around 6pm. I had hoped that this morning it would peak (I've read 12 to 18 hours) and I could start my batch today. But I didn't see anything in the growler jug I used. One problem is my growler is very dark brown glass so it's hard to see anything clearly (next time use clear glass) but I'm pretty sure there isn't any activity. I've shaked it a few times last night and this am to see if I could see foaming but nothing yet. From what I read in 24 to 48 hours you should be able to store in the fridge if you want so I think by now it should have hit it's peak. This was my first order of liquid yeast from AHS and I fear the temps killed it even with a cold pack.

If dead, I suppose the good news is I did the starter and didn't pitch directly to my batch.

 

[Grinder12000]

I started a starter Thursday Night and I see no activity at all - however from experience I'll pitch it and all will be fine.

I've only had 2 or 2 starters that actually looked like it was fermenting.

The deal with starter is all you are doing is growing yeast so you really don't have to see anything for them guys to be doing what they do.

If you shake/twirl and see any foam at all it's all good!

 

[pretzelb]

Really? I expected some kind of krauesen since most information on the topic (like Mr Malty) talk about pitching at high krauesen for best results.

 

[android]

do you see a decent layer of yeast on the bottom of the jar or is it too dark to see that also? maybe a flashlight will help out to see if there's a nice yeast layer or bubbles popping on the surface of the starter. i've also experienced the starter that didn't appear to be starting, but the resulting beer was fine.

 

[marubozo]

Yep, you'll often not get anything that looks like the activity that you'd see in your fermenter. Just give it a little swirl and see if you get some bubbles forming. If so, that is a good sign.

When people talk about pitching at high krauesen it just means to pitch at the peak of activity, not necesisarilly because of what you see in your flask.

I always pitch my starters at about 16-24 hours and it works without fail and there's very little if any lag at all once pitching into the fermenter.

 

[VTBrewer]

It probably fermented out while you were sleeping and is fine. A swirl will tell you.

 

[pretzelb]

I can't see the bottom to check for anything there - this is a really dark glass, too bad I don't want that now. I do see some foaming when I swirl but don't you see foaming if you swirl just DME and water too? Seems like I can get foaming when I'm jostling my carboy with wort prior to adding yeast. The foam I see quickly dies down in under 45 seconds so I'm not sure it's the "right" kind of foaming.

The irony is that the only reason I did a starter for the first time to try and make sure the yeast was viable.

 

[coryforsenate]

If you use a smack pack and let it swell before you pitch it into the starter, you should see activity in a few hours.

 

[pretzelb]

This was a vial so no smack pack.

I removed the foil and replaced it with some sanitized saran wrap and wrapped it tight with an elastic then shook it. I assume if it's viable the co2 should expand the plastic wrap and fill it up. If it doesn't, I wonder if that means it's totally dead.

 

[Cerpintine]

I wouldn't worry. Actually, I just made two:

(sorry 'bout the bad lighting and cell cam)

Can you tell which is 25 hours old and which is about five? The bottom is the older one and I never really saw any activity. However if I swirl/shake around it gets foamy and I can also see the yeast from underneath. My vials are also from AHB

I finally get to say it: RDWAHAHB!

 

[pretzelb]

Well, I went ahead with the starter and it might have been a mistake because I see no activity after it sat all night. I know I need to give it 24 to 48 hours but so far it looks pretty bad.

 

[Grinder12000]

Case in point - I had a White Labs tube that said use before Feb 2009. I made a starter with 2 cups water 1 cub DME.

I saw absolutely nothing - no activity at all after 2 days. I pitched it yesterday about 4:00 and saw activity in the carboy 3 hours later.

 

[Yooper]

I've had some starters that I swore didn't ferment at all. So, I checked the SG in them, and they had already fermented out!

Don't worry- it should get going pretty soon. It's always great if you see some activity in the starter, so that you know for sure that the yeast is viable and active. But if you don't, don't panic. That doesn't mean the yeast isn't just fine and doing its job.

 

[pretzelb]

Looks like the starter worked. I've got some nice foam and bubbles. It took longer than normal but I am using liquid for the first time and putting the carboy in a cooler filled with cold water.