yeast (non-)starter

[Nealie]

i made a starter last night hoping for a brew session this evening. i boiled about 3/4 cup of DME in 750ml of water for 20 minutes and pitched after cooling. there was some minor activity (small bubbles) but never a full blown kraeusen. should i hang on to this and just step up to a larger starter? should i trash it and buy new yeast?

 

[Beerrific]

I think you should be fine to use it when you are ready. I rarely ever get a full blown krausen with a starter, sometimes little to no activity at all.

 

[Nealie]

well, let's rock and roll and see what happens. if there's no action in the fermenter in a few days i'm blaming you beerific.

 

[FlyGuy]

If you are unsure whether the starter took off, you can always take a good smell of the starter and pour off a bit to taste. If it fermented, you should smell and taste the alcohol, and it should not be overly sweet.

Because you are pitching so much yeast relative to the starter volume, it ferments out REALLY fast -- often within a day. I wouldn't expect a krausen to build (although it does happen sometimes). You may need to pay attention to different cues about fermentation.