Starter with Washed Yeast Question

[SATXbrew]

I made a starter with some washed Belgian Yeast that I had saved for a few months. I did a 1L starter with DME, mixed in the yeast in to a growler and put some foil on it. I did it around 8PM last night. Still no signs of anything going on in there. I know I need to be patient and wait but I wanted to go buy my grains today and I am not confident its going to work. Should I buy some extra yeast just in case? I would like to save some money on that. How do I know for sure that the starter is good to use?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[billl]

You can take a gravity reading.

 

[Jayhem]

Most starters I've made do not show any bubbles or krausen (foam) on the surface. I know they are working though because once they start to clear up after 2-3 days I can see a nice layer of cream colored yeast sediment on the bottom, this is a sure sign your starter was active.

I always have some extra dry yeast on hand just in case something goes wrong I don't have to panic.

 

[StMarcos]

Always have other yeast options on hand. Activity can be hard to see, especially if you used antifoam during the boil and are using a stirplate. It's likely that it fermented out if a two day cold crash in the fridge yields a clear beer. Gravity check would be the best bet. Is it possible that the yeast froze during the storage period? Domestic refrigerators can swing a lot. If you had extremely poor viability, and the starter did end up taking awhile to get going, you should make yet another starter from the sediment from the first.

 

[SATXbrew]

Thanks for the info guys! I guess I just dont like the idea of not knowing for sure if it did anything or if it is good to use. Sounds like the only sure way to tell is by a gravity reading. Turns out I ended up buying some new yeast and using that instead. I did the starter about 24 hours ahead of time and I just wasnt prepared to use it. I am going to take a reading and consider it a learning experience. Next time.. I still have two more jars of washed yeast I can use. I suppose that yeast would still be good too..