I'm about to start my boil for a mini-mash witbier, and I thought I'd make a yeast starter. The problem being I think I did it all wrong. I sanitized a 2L flask then boiled 1800 mL of water and poured in .5 lbs of DME with some yeast nutrient. I didn't really "stir" the DME more than I just swirled it around. After playing with the temperature to get it to boil (which it boiled over once), I let it roll for 15 min.
Now the problems begin...I set the flask, with aluminum cap in place, in the freezer to cool to "near room temperature." Being that it was after midnight and by 130 am it still wasn't cool, I went to bed. I left the flask in the stove top, and when I woke up I pitch a vile of Belgian Ale White Labs. I noticed black floaties in the flask which resembled something like burnt sugar. Was it burnt DME from not thoroughly stirring it? Did I make another mistake by leaving it on the stove top over night (~5 hours)?
The starter looks fine today. A solid krausen growing nicely, but is the strain ruined for when I pitch into my wort? And lastly, should I not boil the DME directly in the flask? Should I cook it in a pot then transfer to the flask once the boil is over? Sorry for poorly written thread; I'm exhausted from the lack of sleep and a 11 hour work day. But on the bright side, I'm going home now to make some more homebrew.
Now the problems begin...I set the flask, with aluminum cap in place, in the freezer to cool to "near room temperature." Being that it was after midnight and by 130 am it still wasn't cool, I went to bed. I left the flask in the stove top, and when I woke up I pitch a vile of Belgian Ale White Labs. I noticed black floaties in the flask which resembled something like burnt sugar. Was it burnt DME from not thoroughly stirring it? Did I make another mistake by leaving it on the stove top over night (~5 hours)?
The starter looks fine today. A solid krausen growing nicely, but is the strain ruined for when I pitch into my wort? And lastly, should I not boil the DME directly in the flask? Should I cook it in a pot then transfer to the flask once the boil is over? Sorry for poorly written thread; I'm exhausted from the lack of sleep and a 11 hour work day. But on the bright side, I'm going home now to make some more homebrew.