Yeast Starter Fail

[akinsgre]

I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum.. but I'm just not sure what I did wrong.

My yeast starter isn't starting... can anyone help me find what I did wrong?

White Labs 001 California yeast

Mixed 2 cups water and a 1/2 cup DME in a flask; boiled and let cool to 89F.

Then I put the yeast in, shook it up, covered with foil.

Shook again frequently for the first couple hours, then let sit over night. It's about 12 hours later and no apparent activity.

I've got 15 gallons of wort that have been waiting on yeast for 2 days now.. so I'm getting nervous.

 

[Foosier]

The only way to KNOW nothing has happened is to check the wort with a hydrometer. In my experience, the shake as you go by method works fine. Doubt the yeast is dead. I rarely see a big krausen on my starters even when doing the shake method. However, I don't think 1 vial of yeast into a small starter is going to be enough for 15 gallons of wort. Did you use a yeast calculator? (Mr Malty?)

If you have waited 2 days I would be nervous too. I would check the gravity of the starter and if it has changed, you could pitch it. but I'd probably get some dry yeast packs so you can get something in the wort asap (assuming you are not doing no-chill.)

 

[akinsgre]

but I'd probably get some dry yeast packs so you can get something in the wort asap (assuming you are not doing no-chill.)

Thanks

What is the "no-chill"?

 

[akinsgre]

However, I don't think 1 vial of yeast into a small starter is going to be enough for 15 gallons of wort. Did you use a yeast calculator? (Mr Malty?)

I didn't.. I assumed that since I use 1 vial for 5 gallons that I could get close enough.

I'll checkout the calculator; does anyone have a rough estimate how many times the yeast would multiple with the small starter I created? Would it double, triple.. less than double?

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

this is why you make a starter ahead of time, at least a couple days prior to brew day. Sometimes it takes several days to get the yeast going if you have a bad tube....some times it never starts period...

 

[-Matteo-]

I didn't.. I assumed that since I use 1 vial for 5 gallons that I could get close enough.

I'll checkout the calculator; does anyone have a rough estimate how many times the yeast would multiple with the small starter I created? Would it double, triple.. less than double?

I'm not used to calculations in cups. So I'll quote from the book (Yeast: the Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation)

At the [...] temperature of 70° F (21° C) and a specific gravity of 1.036 (9 °P).The final gravity, after the starter was complete, was 1.008 (2 °P).

Effect of inoculation rate [...] for typical propagation rates, starting with 100 billion cells:

Starter Volume (liters): 0.5 (2 cups?)
Inoculation Rate (millions/ml): 200 (supposing your yeast was really young)
New Cells Created (billions): 12
Total Cells at Finish: (billions): 112
Number of Doublings: 0.1

Since I'm not used to cups and ounces... is 1/2 cup DME something like 125 grams?

Wouldn't it mean an O.G. of 1.088? And: isn't it stressful for yeast?

 

[dobe12]

You need to make your starter ahead of time, not on brew day. That does you no good. Starters are typically done within 24hrs, but that's with fresh, healthy yeast. If the yeast has any age to it, it could take 24hrs or longer to get going. Then when done, you should cold crash and decant the spent wort. This takes another 24hrs or so.

You also didn't make enough yeast for 15gallons. Without looking at a calculator, it sounds like you made enough yeast for an average gravity 5 gallon batch. I have no idea how old your yeast is or the gravity of your wort, so there's no way to tell how much yeast you need.

At this point, I'd suggest going to your LHBS and picking up a few fresh packs/vials or yeast.

 

[flars]

I didn't.. I assumed that since I use 1 vial for 5 gallons that I could get close enough.

I'll checkout the calculator; does anyone have a rough estimate how many times the yeast would multiple with the small starter I created? Would it double, triple.. less than double?

Use this yeast starter calculator. It will also show the growth rate for different volumes of starter wort planned.
90° was quite warm to pitch the yeast into. The optimum fermentation range for most ale yeasts is 66°.
When you swirled and shook the starter flask on the second day was there any sign of krausen formation?
Making a starter by the shake and swirl method involves aerating as often as possible for to keep the wort aerated. Starters by this method will usually be completed by the end of 36 hours.
Think of how a starter is aerated when using a stir plate. The aeration is continuous allowing completion in 12 to 18 hours.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

 

[akinsgre]

Thanks everyone. I haven't digested all the answers yet.

But.. I bought some dry yeast to pitch in the wort and hope that gets my beer going.

Then I bought another tube to try a starter again. The tube I bought yesterday was new from the store, but I didn't check the date. The tube I bought today was new at the store and says "Use by July 14, 2014" Hopefully that means it's good.

How do you all do OG when you don't have enough wort to use a hydrometer?

 

[dobe12]

You don't need a hydrometer, usually. 1L of water with 1oogms of DME will give you 1.040 wort which is good for a starter. You can scale that up or down depending on the size starter you need.

 

[flars]

Thanks everyone. I haven't digested all the answers yet.

But.. I bought some dry yeast to pitch in the wort and hope that gets my beer going.

Then I bought another tube to try a starter again. The tube I bought yesterday was new from the store, but I didn't check the date. The tube I bought today was new at the store and says "Use by July 14, 2014" Hopefully that means it's good.

How do you all do OG when you don't have enough wort to use a hydrometer?

White Labs production date is 2 months previous to the best by date.

 

[skw]

Thanks

What is the "no-chill"?

It's not using a wort chiller and letting the wort cool down to pitching temperature naturally instead.

 

[akinsgre]

The second try worked fine.

I don't have a scale, so I used 2/3C DME to 800ML of water. Probably off by a bit. Then I pitched the yeast at 78F instead of 89F. Within 8 hours it was obvious that there was some yeast growth and this morning I had a nice,big Krausen on the starter.

Also.. the dry yeast worked on my kegs so hopefully they didn't get any contamination while they were sitting and they'll be fine #fingerscrossed

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm going to research how to save this starter off for the next batch so it's not just a wasted experiment.

 

[flars]

The second try worked fine.

I don't have a scale, so I used 2/3C DME to 800ML of water. Probably off by a bit. Then I pitched the yeast at 78F instead of 89F. Within 8 hours it was obvious that there was some yeast growth and this morning I had a nice,big Krausen on the starter.

Also.. the dry yeast worked on my kegs so hopefully they didn't get any contamination while they were sitting and they'll be fine #fingerscrossed

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm going to research how to save this starter off for the next batch so it's not just a wasted experiment.

A cup of DME weighs about 6 ounces. I used Northern Brewers carbonation calculator to find this.

Use the Brewers Friend starter calculator to find the estimated end cell count for the volumes you used in your starter. Keep your starters at bout 1.040 to 1.035. For old yeast 1.010 to 1.020 is preferable for healthy growth.
Keep good notes.
When you use the swirl and shake method for a starter, and a krausen forms, the starter isn't finished yet. Shake and swirl as often as possible to keep the wort aerated.
Refrigerate this starter to compact the yeast. Give it a couple of days.
Decant some of the clear wort from your flask so that the remainder will just fill a pint jar, or other small jar, to the top. Swirl up the remainder and pour off into the small jar.
Label the jar with type of yeast and production date. 40°F to 34°F is good for keeping yeast refrigerated.