yeast starter pic (look OK to pitch?)

[discoross]

I made my first 2L yeast starter with WLP001 and DME up to 1.040. About 40 hours later, it looks like the picture below. There was a time when swirling it made it foam with what seemed like carbonation, but I never saw the constant foam I'm used to during a primary fermentation.
It's clearer now, but there's that creamy white yeast at the bottom. Does that mean it finished?
Do I shake it up and pitch the whole thing or pour off the top and somehow (how?) rescue the bottom yeast?

click for big

 

[JLem]

looks good. You could decant, but I always just swirl and pitch the whole thing.

 

[Nateo]

I've seen 12-18 hours quoted as the time it takes to achieve maximum cell density. After that point, your starter is just making beer, and not making any more yeast. So you don't have to wait for it to be finished in order to pitch it.

Do wait until it's finished if you want to decant the excess starter fluid, but I usually just pitch the whole thing, unless it's like a 6 liter starter.

 

[Revvy]

Looks beauteous!!!!

 

[DeNomad]

Looks good. Since it's already settled I'd decant 1/2 to 2/3 of the liquid down the drain, swirl up the stuff in the bottom and dump that in the beer (that's what has worked for me anyhow).

 

[passedpawn]

I'd dump everything but the yeast. You got nice separation of the yeast there.

Just put some of your new wort in there when you are transferring from the boil pot to the fermentor, swirl, then pitch.

 

[Nateo]

Isn't there still yeast in suspension? I thought the reason for cold crashing was so you don't lose your better attenuators/poorer flocculaters.