yeast starter inactivity

[Strecker25]

hey guys, ive made plenty of yeast starters in the past with fine results. This pack of yeast came from northern brewer (MN) and was shipped to upstate NY so it took about 3-4 days. Normally I get good visual fermentation overnight, with a small krausen and I can see the yeast settle out. This time around, it didnt happen. Im building up for a big beer anyways, so ill be adding a second round of wort to the starter. But my question is whether I got a bad batch out of a slap pack. My intent is to take a gravity reading of the decanted wort in a few days, if it is down to 1.010 or close to it is it fair to say the yeast is good? I know visual fermentation is no indicator, but its just out of the norm.

the yeast is wyeast Irish Ale.
thanks!

 

[daksin]

As long as you're seeing a yeast cake generated at the bottom of your starter, the yeast are healthy and reproducing, which is all you want them to do. You should be fine, especially if you're just building up.

 

[Strecker25]

its there (albeit a little thin) but the initial size was only 1L, much smaller than I usually go with in a single stage starter. So that may explain the slow start. Thanks for the input, positive reinforcement is always good.