Unfermented Wort Sitting Idle...

[coldrice]

Is it harmful to leave unfermented wort in the carboy for two days while making a real wort starter? How does this affect the final outcome?

 

[coldrice]

Is it harmful to leave unfermented wort in the carboy for two days while making a real wort starter? How does this affect the final outcome?

 

[Fingers]

You're more susceptible to infection. Unfermented wort is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. I wouldn't take the chance.

Did you want me to respond in your other post as well?

 

[Fingers]

...because most of us will see both. Cross posting is frowned upon.

 

[Austin_]

As long as your sanitation is good I see no problem. I've had batches lag for 3 days before taking off. I don't see how that's any different than letting it sit for a few days without pitching.

 

[Fingers]

As long as your sanitation is good I see no problem. I've had batches lag for 3 days before taking off. I don't see how that's any different than letting it sit for a few days without pitching.

You'll still get the lag after pitching, so it's cumulative. Not only that, if you pitch immediately your yeast is competing with the nasties to reproduce. If you give the nasties a head start, they just might win.

 

[Austin_]

You'll still get the lag after pitching, so it's cumulative. Not only that, if you pitch immediately your yeast is competing with the nasties to reproduce. If you give the nasties a head start, they just might win.

I still don't think it's that different. When he pitches the real wort starter he shouldn't have much lag, especially with the starter and the beer most likely at the same temperature. It's not like he's pitching a tube of White Labs or something where he would have that long lag time.

Edit:
I agree that there is a heightened chance for something to go wrong, but I still say that if the OP's sanitation is good then it shouldn't be too big of a deal. The OP might want to check out some of the No-Chill threads for how other people store their wort before pitching.

 

[BioBeing]

If you sanitize everything very well, and seal it up, I don't see how this is too different to no-chill... The only difference is that in no-chill, as the name suggests, the wort is not chilled at all before being put in the fermenting vessel - usually a "cube" designed for this purpose. The heat of the wort at transfer helps keep nasties from growing in it.

However you cannot put boiling wort directly into a glass carboy, or even an ale pail or better bottle. So you would have to be absolutely anal about sanitizing everything from flame out onwards. I'm sure people do it and it works. I'm equally sure others have disasters! How lucky do you feel?

If it were me, I'd make a DME starter this time, but save some wort (chill it and freeze) to use for next time... [actually that isn't true. I have a bunch of DME left, so I just use that everytime!]. If you don't have DME, I have heard of people doing a minimash in a coffee pot to get enough wort for their starter.

 

[coldrice]

Yeah the vials of White Labs have almost always taken 3 days (in my experience) to start rockin and rolling. This would be the first time I have ever made a starter, after having brewed probably ten beers now. I'm predicting my og to be 1.065...perhaps I'll just pitch the vial directly and buy some DME for all my future projects.

 

[Batinse]

Obviously, you are risking contamination if you wait. I've pitched 24 hours later once and the beer turned out fine, but as a regular practice, I wouldn't advise it. Buy some extract and make your starters before brew day. But, if it's a question of timing, go ahead and brew. Just follow basic sanitizing procedures closely. Also, in my experience (although I use Wyeast), if the yeast is a month old or less, you don't need a starter.

 

[david_42]

There is no advantage to delaying pitching to make a starter. The yeast will grow just as fast in the fermenter.

 

[coldrice]

That is the theory I am working under at this point. I intend to just pitch directly to the wort tomorrow and then just plan better in the future. The yeast is actually pretty fresh, and a og of 1.065 isn't too terribly high-and that's if I even hit that mark.