Strike two.

[smthgfshy]

I have now failed twice to get a yeast starter going. I've done this before with great results so although I'm still a noob, I'm at least to second base. I'm using WLP568 Saison blend yeast.

Here's what I've done, twice:

Added 2 cups (500ml) of water to pot.
Added 1/2 cup DME.
Boiled for 10min.
Cooled to 75.
transferred to growler
Pitched 1 vial of WLP568.
covered top with foil and rubber band.
waited 36 hours with occasional stirring.....no action...no krausen..nothing

I thoroughly sanitized everything...pot, yeast vial, rubber band, growler, funnel, foil. My cabin temp is HIGHLY variable. Averages about 65 at chest height, 50ish at floor. Temp drops at night. Temp goes up when heater is on. Heater is either on or off. If I put starter in front of heater it will go up to about 150F, on top of heater 90F, 6 inches away 65F.

I'm 5 hours from my LHBS and have already spent $25 on yeast. I'd hate to use this starter if it's bad and ruin a batch.

What's going on????

 

[joetothemo]

Supposed to avoid the rubber band (from reading*, not experience). Your yeasties need the O2 in the air to propagate.


*p.285 Yeast Pitching Rates and Starters, Brewing Classic Styles, Zainasheff/Palmer

 

[joetothemo]

...also, what was the "Use by" date on your vial?

 

[eastoak]

sounds like you are getting the starters too hot and pitching into 75 degree wort might not be a good idea either. those tiny yeasts don't like large swings in temperature, a 5-10 dregree change for them is huge. the krausen could have come and gone while you were asleep, in any event no krausen means nothing. are you seeing a whitish layer of yeast on the bottom of your container?

 

[gio]

your starters are probably fine and you just aren't noticing the fermentation. I rarely notice any active fermentation since it happens fairly quickly. You can tell it happened by the layer of yeast that will collect on the bottom.

 

[Hang Glider]

+1 to this ^

Starters are not as showy as a 5 gallon pail of wort. I never see krausen. But I see a thicker and thicker layer at the bottom of my flask

:rockin:


so - you may have plenty of yeast!!!

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

75F isn't a bad temperature to pitch into, unless of course your yeast is at 38F from the fridge...

Make sure you bring out the vial of yeast out of the fridge at least 12 hours prior to pitching.

M_C

 

[Golddiggie]

From what I've read on yeast packs, and online info (from the manufacturers) a 10C difference in temp is bad... 10F is nothing.

I've had starters that didn't look like much was going on, unless I gave them a really good swirl. Then they would foam up nicely, so I knew something was going on. My last one was very calm in the starter jar, but when I pitched the slurry it took off really nice... Krausen formed in under 8 hours, great activity in about 18 hours (no one was looking at it in the gaps)... Hope to dry hop it before the end of this weekend, and then bottle it next weekend. If I can't get over to where it's fermenting, then I'll just bottle it up on that weekend without the dry hop addition... F'ing LL...

 

[BrewThruYou]

Yeah, toss the rubber band...you need o2.

That's a really small starter for a vial of White Labs yeast. They might've chewed through the sugar extremely fast. I made a 1.6L starter with White Labs yeast and it was different than my starters with washed yeast...not much of a krausen and finished a lot faster.

I don't even make starters smaller than 1L...seems like a waste of time.

 

[beninan]

I know some people use 2 cups water to 1/2 cup DME, but I thought using that ratio has an OG of around 1.075 or something. I tried making a starter using that ratio and it never took off, but I was also trying to harvest some yeast out of an old bottle, so who knows.

I now use 1 pound of light DME for 1 gallon of water, which equals out to 1 oz DME per cup of water. That should get you to an OG of around 1.045. I haven't had issues using this ratio of water to DME.

Also, I've only had one starter that has shown visual activity. I do use an air lock on my starters, but remove the airlock when I swirl it to help get some O2 back in there. It may not be the best method, but I like the peace of mind of knowing that there's a lesser chance of something unwanted living in my starter.

 

[Golddiggie]

Most of my starters have been just a few ounces (1/4 to 1/2 cup) per quart of water... I seem to get better results from the lower amount. Just what I've encountered, on this side... On some, I've also added some reserved must from a batch of mead, which would have boosted the OG of the starter. Next time, I'll probably use 2-3oz of DME per quart and see how it goes...

I do have a new 2L jar to use for starters, that will seal very well. That's more for transporting to my brewing location than anything else.