Yeast Starter...Infection?

[cutigers81]

I have a yeast starter going, spinning away on my stir plate. Two dark spots are showing...gnats have snuck in under the tin foil. Concern?

 

[EcuPirate07]

Could be. It's much easier to make a new one than pitch a potentially infected starter. Do you have a pic you can post?

 

[cutigers81]

No pics necessary. Just two bugs floating in a mini-beer swirl. Hopefully I can get another WLP-300 to start tomorrow and have ready for the weekend. Looking to split an 11 gallon batch and pitch 300 and SafAle WB-06. Don't want some gnats to ruin the experiment.

Thanks ECU - a fellow NC brewer!

 

[kh54s10]

For me it would depend on my pipeline, and the cost of the ingredients. If I was low on beer AND it was a cheap recipe I might risk it. But if it was a big or hoppy beer I would get new yeast. I might also let the bug starter sit for a while and see if anything grew in it and possible use it in another batch.

 

[day_trippr]

The acetobacter risk isn't worth a brew day...

Cheers!

 

[cutigers81]

As if gnats aren't annoying enough just getting in your eyes and being a general nuisance, now they want to sabotage my hobby. My lifeline.

I agree with all of you - not worth the risk. I might keep the culture around as kh54s10 suggests and see if anything eventually happens. Luckily I have easy access to fresh yeast so replacement isn't difficult. Thanks for the replies!

 

[cutigers81]

Just wanted to follow up with a bit of irony. Or good luck. Or whatever you want to call it.

I'm brewing the 11 gallons of hefe today and just pulled my yeast from the fridge. I had purchased a replacement wlp-300 yesterday without enough time to get a small starter going (I still plan on underpitching some). Low and behold, there are TWO wlp-300 in the fridge. I accidentally used my Burlington Ale yeast for my hefe starter that got the bugs in it. Needless to say, that would have made a pretty unusual hefe.

Going to pitch both 300's into 5.5 gallons and SafAle WB-06 into the other 5.5. Got lucky on this one.

 

[EcuPirate07]

Nice!

 

[IslandLizard]

After the starter is done, cold crash, then decant the starter beer into a well sanitized quart-size takeout container, put a lid on it (or foil) and let sit at room temps for a few days. If a pellicle appears or it tastes sour or bad, it's likely infected.

I always taste some of the starter beer right after decanting for early signs of infection.