Stuck Starter

[MNHopHead]

Hey,

I attempted to harvest yeast from 3 bottles of St. Bernardous Apt 12. I had the sediment layer from 2 bottles in the back of the fridge for about 3 weeks, and the sediment layer from the 3rd was obtained on "pitching" day (1/7/11). The night before, 1/6/11, I made 4 liters of 1.030 wort, and let it cool overnight in a carboy. On pitching day, I added the sediment layers, just under half of the wort, and .5 grams of Wyeast Yeast Nutrient in a half-gallon jug.

Nothing has happened.

Did I do something blatantly wrong that I've overlooked?

Thanks!

 

[DrawTap88]

There are a couple things that are jumping out at me in your process. I

t doesn't sound like you checked to make sure the yeast was still viable (alive). Taking yeast from a big beer it is more likely that the yeast were dead or very very stressed.

Leaving the bottles in the fridge for 2 weeks. Did you add starter wort to the bottles? If you did, did you let the yeast start to consume the starter wort and reproduce?

 

[MNHopHead]

I did not check the yeasts' viability. How does one do so?

I drank the beer from two of the bottles and poured out the sediment layer into a small cup, covered it with plastic, and left that in the fridge for about 3 weeks, without adding started wort to it.

I made starter wort thursday; then drank the last beer on friday and added its sediment layer to the starter wort along with the sediment from the previous two bottles and yeast nutrient.

 

[DrawTap88]

I did not check the yeasts' viability. How does one do so?

I drank the beer from two of the bottles and poured out the sediment layer into a small cup, covered it with plastic, and left that in the fridge for about 3 weeks, without adding started wort to it.

I made starter wort thursday; then drank the last beer on friday and added its sediment layer to the starter wort along with the sediment from the previous two bottles and yeast nutrient.

Basically all you need to do is feed the yeast with some low gravity starter wort. The yeast will start reproducing and give the small starter a cloudy appearance, since they're reproducing and starting to ferment the wort again. Or you could streak a plate, to isolate the living yeast from the dead ones (small colonies will start to form and you can pick which ones are growing better than others). Or you can start taking some gravity readings, which is probably the easiest way to do it since it's already a starter.

I'm thinking that the yeast that was in the fridge was dead, or very close to dead, when you made the initial starter. The only way to tell is to let your .5 gal starter ferment. Just give it a shake every once in a while to add some oxygen to it and help those yeast reproduce, if they're still kicking.

 

[jsullivan02130]

Get a stirplate.

 

[BuzzCraft]

IMO, from what you described, you are probably dealing with a very small population of viable yeast. Those that were still alive would likely be quite stressed from the high ABV of that beer (it's a quad, no?)

You probably would have been better off pitching into a much smaller volume of somewhat lower gravity wort....just a wild guess, but maybe 200ml of 1.020 wort and stepping it up from there.

 

[MNHopHead]

If there are any viable yeast, how long will it take before they start starting? That is, until it will be obvious that they're alive and reproducing and forming some krautzen?

 

[BuzzCraft]

in your exact situation, i don't really know...i've had several month past expiration WL vials take 3+ days to show activity on a stir plate in less wort than you pitched into.

off the top of my head, i'd give it a week, keeping it at 70-75F and shaking to aerate as often as practical. do you have an airlock on or just sanitized foil?

 

[MNHopHead]

I have an airlock on it.

And the Apt 12 is, I guess, essentially a quad. Belgian Strong Ale; whatever you wanna call it...

It is getting kind of cloudy, and a deeper reddish hue, compared to the remaining wort I have leftover.

 

[DrawTap88]

Those are good signs, MN. Get the airlock off and cover the opening with foil. Shake as often as practical, like Buzz said. Gotta give those yeast enough oxygen to reproduce.