Starter Startover?

[punk_rockin2001]

So yesterday I made a starter for my first liquid yeast endeaver. Everything was going smoothly until the very last moment. When I cracked open the lid on the mini flask thing the liquid started fizzing out and dripped down along the unsanitized outside of the flask and down into my funnel and finally into my glass container for the starter. Since this was the point of now return I just poured the rest of the yeast in and put the airlock on it and called it a night. So now that I've thought about it, I think I should just make another starter with some different yeast. I will be making a big beer and I just don't think its worth the risk of ruining the whole thing from a drip. Anyone??

 

[pompeiisneaks]

You've got a "chance" now of infection, but you don't know... if the starter you're making suddenly starts smelling awful, then some infection has taken over. On the other hand, yeast is a mighty hardy stuff. If it takes off in the starter well, and smells like normal yeast, I'd guess its doing fine. my 2c is that you should wait until the starter's doing some of its own fermentation and see if its contaminated... if not... go for it. Others w/ more experience may counter that idea, but I think you're probably fine.

 

[Roman Brewer]

You've got a "chance" now of infection, but you don't know... if the starter you're making suddenly starts smelling awful, then some infection has taken over. On the other hand, yeast is a mighty hardy stuff. If it takes off in the starter well, and smells like normal yeast, I'd guess its doing fine. my 2c is that you should wait until the starter's doing some of its own fermentation and see if its contaminated... if not... go for it. Others w/ more experience may counter that idea, but I think you're probably fine.

I agree, you're probably fine. That's happened to me too. Part of the benefit of a yeast start is to introduce enough hardy yeast to begin a vigorous fermentation before infection can set in. Although there is a chance of infection, your chances are good . What I do now is to gently agitate the starter to stir up the slurry on the bottom, being careful not to let it turn into a yeast volcano. Once it gets pretty mixed up again, I remove the airlock and bung, and pour.

You can also reduce your risk by sanitizing your hands and beaker/bottle (whatever) before you do any of this. But you already know that!!

Cheers.

Roman

 

[punk_rockin2001]

Does the yeast come spraying out of the flask that quickly every time? I will definitely sanitize the outside of the flask as well as I can next time. Also the starter is finally starting to take off. 24 hours later. Does liquid yeast always take that long? Normally I just pitch nottingham straight into the wort and it will take off within 2-5 hours.:fro:

 

[ifishsum]

BTW, it's better to lose the airlock and just cover your starter vessel loosely with foil: stop putting airlocks on your starters!

Don't sweat it too much, it takes quite a bit to infect a batch. But that's the main reason they say to sanitize the package before opening...