Starter Still Hazy - Fridge or Freezer?

[BullGator]

I made my starter about 36 hours ago. It is about 1900mL with a OG of 1.04. I used 2 vials of yeast. It definitely kicked off. I don't have a stir plate but I shook it every so often. Now my problem is that it is still pretty hazy and it seems that there is not as much yeast cake on the bottom (at least not as much as I would expect).

I realized that I should have put it in the fridge last night to get the yeast to settle. I am brewing today (imperial stout, OG 1.09). I was wondering if putting it in the freezer would help speed up the yeast in settling. I do not mean freeze the starter, I just want to use the freezer to get the starter cool enough to help the yeast settle quicker. any thoughts?

I have the starter in the fridge now and plan to delay brewing until later today at a minimum. I am just afraid there is not enough time to get the yeast to settle and was wondering if the freezer would help speed things up.

maybe an ice bath in the sink? Just thinking out loud.

thanks,

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

just pitch the whole starter... in a 1.090 imperial stout it wont make much, if any flavor difference. I'd advise against shocking the yeast out of suspension with freezing temps, then expecting them to wake right back up in your high gravity wort.

If you want to decant and pitch, I've always had good luck making my starter a week in advance, so it can sit several days at fridge temps to flocc out the yeast.

 

[BullGator]

Thanks for the advice! I am brewing in about 3 hours. I will take the starter out of the fridge during the boil so it can warm up before I pitch. Depending on how much has settled out, maybe I will decant some off but most likely will pitch the whole thing. I never thought about the Imperial Stout being so strong as to have a low probability to have flavor issues from the starter. Good point. thanks again.

 

[Catt22]

just pitch the whole starter... in a 1.090 imperial stout it wont make much, if any flavor difference. I'd advise against shocking the yeast out of suspension with freezing temps, then expecting them to wake right back up in your high gravity wort.

If you want to decant and pitch, I've always had good luck making my starter a week in advance, so it can sit several days at fridge temps to flocc out the yeast.

+1 S_T_M speaketh the truth!

 

[Catt22]

Thanks for the advice! I am brewing in about 3 hours. I will take the starter out of the fridge during the boil so it can warm up before I pitch. Depending on how much has settled out, maybe I will decant some off but most likely will pitch the whole thing. I never thought about the Imperial Stout being so strong as to have a low probability to have flavor issues from the starter. Good point. thanks again.

Your plan is basically sound. Odds are that the yeast will have settled considerably by the time you are ready to pitch and you can decant some of the wort. Don't expect the wort to be super clear, especially if there is a lot of activity going on yet.

I'm not sure what happens when you pitch two vials in a two liter starter, but it sure hits the wallet hard. I'm wondering if the relatively large dose of yeast might consume the available oxygen really fast and then switch from reproduction to fermentation. I'm only speculating here and have no idea if this can or does happen. Maybe one of the yeast gurus can enlighten both of us.

 

[BullGator]

I think you are on to something Cat. I am just a beginner but I was thinking about the oxygen being consumed especially because I used a 2000mL flask and had it filled to about 1900mL. I shook the crap out of it but I still think that may have been a contributor. thanks for the advice.

BTW, the starter has been in the fridge for about 3 hours and it hasn't cleared much. I think I am going to throw the whole thing in. I am going to take a gravity reading of the starter to see what it is at prior to pitching. Probably should have done that earlier today....