Stuck starter widths wyeast activator?

[jeepi]

Hi everyone.

last night, I made a starter using a pack of wyeast activator London ale. Starter was 1.8l with just shy of 2 cups DME. I smacked the pack about an hour before pitching at 20 degrees C. I didn't wait for it to inflate but I could hear the bubbling sound through the pack, plus it was dated august 13 (not too bad). When I pitched and shacked, it was lightly foaming. The next morning, no sign of activity and but almost half an inch of slurry at the bottom of the vial. 24 hours later, still no bubbles nor krausen. Is it possible that it fermented completely in less than 12 hours and I missed it ? Thanks for the help!


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[Gameface]

Very possible. That and August is actually pretty bad. I'd go for a second round on the starter. Not many cells left from August.

Tonight I'm making a starter from a pack of 1469 Yorkshire Ale yeast and it's from mid November. I have no intention of pitching this starter. I'm going to step it up one more time and bottle it into multiple bottles to make future starters from.

 

[brewbama]

Hi everyone.

last night, I made a starter using a pack of wyeast activator London ale. Starter was 1.8l with just shy of 2 cups DME. I smacked the pack about an hour before pitching at 20 degrees C. I didn't wait for it to inflate but I could hear the bubbling sound through the pack, plus it was dated august 13 (not too bad). When I pitched and shacked, it was lightly foaming. The next morning, no sign of activity and but almost half an inch of slurry at the bottom of the vial. 24 hours later, still no bubbles nor krausen. Is it possible that it fermented completely in less than 12 hours and I missed it ? Thanks for the help!


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I'd step it up since it's from Aug.


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[duboman]

1.081 is quite high for a starter. Really you should aim for 1.035-1.040: lower gravity is also preferred for old yeast.

You should weigh out the DME in a 10:1 Ratio, like 100 grams DME to 1 liter of water

18-24 hours is pretty typical for a starter to ferment out so I wouldn't worry but definitely step this one up another liter!

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[jeepi]

Agreed... I was using palmers recipe ( 1/2 cup for 500 ml) but i guess it does give you pretty high gravity... I'll step it up see what happens


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[kh54s10]

Also if you don't have a stirplate and are just shaking it often, it will take a little longer. I would go 2 or 3 days, cold crash then step it up for another 2-3 day cycle.

 

[jeepi]

Starter is finally showing some bubling after like 3-4 days lol. Will definitely step it up this week. But it got me thinking though. I have 2 other packs of yeast that are dated august 13 as well. Should I make starters right now, step them up and then store them using the yeast washing technique on this page ?



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[duboman]

You certianly could and you could split the harvested yeast into smaller jars. When rrady to use simply make a starter to get it going and pitch rate

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