Yeast slurry not active in starter/flask 14 hours later...

[Panderson1]

I harvested some slurry from bottom of conical 20 days ago. Beer was 1.055. Didn't have a mason jar so dumped the good looking yeast into a sanitized pint glass and saran wrapped it up tight.

Anyway i made a starter. 1600ml. Didn't think it would be needed but I did anyways. 1.040 wort.
Put on stirplat. Now today no activity. Took a reading and still at 1.040. First time making a starter with slurry. Does it take longer to start eating? I guess I'll dump it if nothing happens by tomorrow. Tomorrow is brewday

 

[Dr_Jeff]

With it being only 20 days old, I would expect it to start up as soon as it got warm.

 

[IslandLizard]

Storing in a sealed pint glass should be OK.

It may take some time to awake, 12-24 hours is typical.
How was the slurry stored for those 20 days, in the fridge?
How much slurry did you use in your starter?

How did you take a gravity reading?

 

[Panderson1]

Storing in a sealed pint glass should be OK.

It may take some time to awake, 12-24 hours is typical.
How was the slurry stored for those 20 days, in the fridge?
How much slurry did you use in your starter?

How did you take a gravity reading?

20 days in the fridge.
It was about half a pint glass. thick solid off white.
Used the same refractometer as I did when making the starter.

 

[Panderson1]

It looks like it's finally starting to take off. Almost 24 hours later. Should I trust it? I have a newer slurry harvest In the fridge. It's going to be for a 11 gallon IPA batch tomorrow.... hmmmmmm.

 

[IslandLizard]

20 days kept in the fridge is not too long, viability drops about 10% per month.
Half a pint of yeast is quite a lot, depending on how much trub (non-yeast matter) is included. You be the judge of that. Would it be safe to say half of that volume is pure yeast, the other half trub?

Did you split the half pint between the flask and the tall narrow container?

You may not get all much growth with that much yeast in 1.5 liter of wort, especially when it's not being moved to aerate (stir plate, shaker, etc.). It's more like a wake up (or vitality) starter right now.

Let it be, give it a swirl from time to time to offgas it, and incorporate some air. Air (the oxygen) is good for yeast starters, it promotes healthy growth.

Did you add a drop of Fermcap to the starter wort? If not, keep a close eye on it, and swirl intermittently, so it doesn't become a volcano during the night... losing half to the countertop by tomorrow morning.

Pitch as is!
Do not cold crash, there is not enough time for that. Don't decant either, your most healthy yeast will still be suspended!

Before next time, read up about making yeast starters, so you're better prepared.