yeast dilemma

[RedBeard1]

So, I've made a several batches now, but never really fooled with a yeast starter. I've been planning to brew today to use my brand new wort chiller, so last night i took the smack pack out of the fridge and gave it a wallop. I boiled 2qts of water and added 8oz of light DME. Didn't wait for the pack to swell, just added it to the DME, covered loosely with plastic wrap, and went to bed.
This morning it doesn't look to have done much. The yeast is fresh, just delivered from NB a few days ago and went straight to the fridge. I could run down to the LHBS and pick up a different yeast, but I am making a Fullers ESB clone and they don't stock the one in the recipe. Think I should pitch the started anyway and see what happens? Brew and pitch the yeast in a few days after I order another package? Save the fullers recipe for later and brew something with the yeast i can get? Somehow beer is being made today!

 

[libeerty]

I bet it's fine. Sometimes my starters don't look like much is happening, but 6-12 hours after pitching, I can definitely tell the difference.

 

[broadbill]

Active fermentation has not started yet, its probably OK though....probably not going to get much benefit from the starter if you still plan to brew today and pitch that. Should have done this 2-3 days ago (at least) in preparation for brewing today. Pitching that starter today would be equivalent to pitching directly from the smack pack.

 

[makomachine]

Starters take ~24 to 36 hours to do their thing. In the future, do it a couple days in advance and you can cold crash in your refrigerator prior to using it. If I was in your situation, I'd brew and pitch the entire volume into your batch when cooled at or below your fermentation temperature. By the time you brew today, and cool, the starter should be good. This recommendation is based on your style of beer and the need to brew today - should turn out fine.

 

[pabloj13]

Active fermentation has not started yet, its probably OK though....probably not going to get much benefit from the starter if you still plan to brew today and pitch that. Should have done this 2-3 days ago (at least) in preparation for brewing today. Pitching that starter today would be equivalent to pitching directly from the smack pack.

In a starter? I don't agree with that at all. Overnight should be plenty for a starter to have given you decent replication.

To the OP, are you stirring or shaking the flask? Does the yeast layer on bottom look thicker? Sometimes starter show almost no "activity" and sometimes they ferment out that quickly. What was the production date for the yeast pack?

 

[makomachine]

Active fermentation has not started yet, its probably OK though....probably not going to get much benefit from the starter if you still plan to brew today and pitch that. Should have done this 2-3 days ago (at least) in preparation for brewing today. Pitching that starter today would be equivalent to pitching directly from the smack pack.

You've likely got as much growth as you'll see at 24 hours - by the time he brews and cools, he'll have plenty of 'growth' to cover the beer/style he's brewing.

 

[bleme]

A friend at work pitched Wy1010 (that he bought from NB) in a batch on Saturday. Yesterday he asks if he can use my backup pack of US-05 because there is still no activity. Like they said above, your yeast is probably good, but shipping in this weather, there is always the possibility that it is dead.

 

[makomachine]

A friend at work pitched Wy1010 (that he bought from NB) in a batch on Saturday. Yesterday he asks if he can use my backup pack of US-05 because there is still no activity. Like they said above, your yeast is probably good, but shipping in this weather, there is always the possibility that it is dead.

Good point on the transportation impact in this heat. I missed that this wasn't a local buy originally.

RedBeard1 - Was your yeast cool when you received it? My WLP007 received from NB yesterday was toasty with two cold packs yesterday - which obviously impacts viability. I'll be doing a starter farther in advance to account for that.

 

[pabloj13]

Good point on the transportation impact in this heat. I missed that this wasn't a local buy originally.

RedBeard1 - Was your yeast cool when you received it? My WLP007 received from NB yesterday was toasty with two cold packs yesterday - which obviously impacts viability. I'll be doing a starter farther in advance to account for that.

Yeah' I've seen quite a few posts this summer like this.

 

[broadbill]

You've likely got as much growth as you'll see at 24 hours - by the time he brews and cools, he'll have plenty of 'growth' to cover the beer/style he's brewing.

Wasn't commenting on +24 hours...was commenting on lack of activity at +8 hrs (overnight)...big difference in sigmodial growth curves.

Also, there could be a significant lag time because of improper storage/shipping conditions.

 

[RedBeard1]

The yeast packs were not cold, even though NB ships with ice packs, but the yeast packs weren't swollen either like some that i have received in hot weather. I'm going to give it a shot, worst that could happen is that I have to repitch right? I'll let you know how this turns out.

 

[RedBeard1]

So I pitched the entire 2L starter and by the next morning there was fierce activity, so the yeast was good! In fact, good thing I used a blow off tube. Missed my OG though, because I was sloppy about my boil volume. On the positive side, I'll have extra beer!

 

[makomachine]

So I pitched the entire 2L starter and by the next morning there was fierce activity, so the yeast was good! In fact, good thing I used a blow off tube. Missed my OG though, because I was sloppy about my boil volume. On the positive side, I'll have extra beer!

Great news - sounds like you are in great shape.

 

[watersr]

Ok, probably an obvious point but you didn't mention it in the original post, did you cool the wort before pitching the yeast? Also, you mentioned boiling water then adding DME, how long did you boil after adding the DME?

 

[watersr]

ok, ignore my last post. Seems I didn;t finish reading the thread before posting.