yeast starter too strong - what to do?

[Dara]

Hi,

I attempted my first yeast starter last night and followed John Palmer's details to the word...with perhaps a bit of common sense missing:
I started with 1/2 cup of DME and 2 cups of water which I boiled,but when I finshed, I had only one cup of starter since the rest boiled away.

I left it overnight and saw no activity. I measured the specific gravity this morning to confirm my fears, and yes, it read 1.2! So I boiled, cooled and added another cup of water to bring it to 2 cups again, shaked the started again. the gravity reads 1.04 now.

So I have a scheduled brew party tonight. My question is this:
1. Should I give up on the starter and assume the yeast now will produce a different flavored ale since I put it in too strong a starter for 12 hours, and just go out and buy a vial of the same liquid yeast and pitch that tonight instead of bothering with a starter this time?

2. Use the starter even though I intend on brewing tonight and it may not have reached good krauesen level?

3. Use the started but postpone till tomorrow night?

Thanks

Dara

 

[Germelli1]

I would ride it out and not postpone the brewday, but maybe postpone the pitching. True the yeast may have been stressed a bit so it is even more reason to make sure the starter takes off before you pitch it.

I would brew tonight, seal up the fermenter with an airlock and pitch whenever the starter is ready. This is just what I would personally do but with either method your mentioned it would most like still make good beer.

Side anecdote: Once my starter failed to take off, and the beer had already been sitting in the fermenter for 2 days. Nothing had started growing in it, so I made a new starter, crushed up 5 camden tables, poured the camden powder into the beer and pitched the yeast 30 hours later. It wasn't ideal but the end result was some fantastic beer!

 

[shawnbou]

I'm a firm believer in the adage that if you practice good sanitation techniques, any starter is better than no starter at all. Germelli's suggestion is a good one, but if you're nervous about leaving it overnight, I think you could just pitch the starter tonight and you'll be fine. Even if it's not yet at high krauesen, you'll have more yeast cells there than you did in just your vial.

I also wouldn't worry too much about the stress you put on the yeast. True, your starter wort had a mind-bogglingly high gravity, but the volume was very small. I've never tried it myself, but it's gotta be hard to underpitch into a 1-cup wort, no matter how strong it is.

 

[Germelli1]

I'm a firm believer in the adage that if you practice good sanitation techniques, any starter is better than no starter at all. Germelli's suggestion is a good one, but if you're nervous about leaving it overnight, I think you could just pitch the starter tonight and you'll be fine. Even if it's not yet at high krauesen, you'll have more yeast cells there than you did in just your vial.

I also wouldn't worry too much about the stress you put on the yeast. True, your starter wort had a mind-bogglingly high gravity, but the volume was very small. I've never tried it myself, but it's gotta be hard to underpitch into a 1-cup wort, no matter how strong it is.

Another great suggestion! The reason I suggested what I did is that I personally use starters to take the guessing game out of yeast health. I just don't personally have an strong enough understanding of yeast science to know how half a day at 1.2 would affect them. So I would just want to make sure they were good to go before pitching!

I agree with sanitation! OP if you do decide to leave it overnight, just be especially careful with sanitation!

With my suggestion, you know the yeast are ready to go in your beer but risk having something else sneak into your wort before the yeast take over.

With Shawnbou's suggestion, you give the yeast a chance to start early and to dominate the microbe population of the wort, but you don't know if they yeast are healthy (they probably are!).

 

[Dara]

hi guys,

thanks for the suggestions.

Since I brought the gravity down to 1.04, i am already having the airlock bubble a little bit, so i guess the yeast is slowly starting to get going. I reckon have another 8 hours to go before pitching.

both suggestions are great, and if I get decent activity in the next 8 hours, i'll pitch tonight.

Do I pitch the whole lot or just the slurry at the bottom?

Also, I don't understand how aerating the starter is good now....is it still at the stage where aeration is a good thing?

Finally, with the ideal pitching time, is the best time only a function of yeast multiplication? i.e. then some time in the started is better than none?

thanks

dara

 

[Germelli1]

hi guys,

thanks for the suggestions.

Since I brought the gravity down to 1.04, i am already having the airlock bubble a little bit, so i guess the yeast is slowly starting to get going. I reckon have another 8 hours to go before pitching.

both suggestions are great, and if I get decent activity in the next 8 hours, i'll pitch tonight.

Do I pitch the whole lot or just the slurry at the bottom?

Also, I don't understand how aerating the starter is good now....is it still at the stage where aeration is a good thing?

Finally, with the ideal pitching time, is the best time only a function of yeast multiplication? i.e. then some time in the started is better than none?

thanks

dara

All your questions are good ones, and very debated topics in the home brewing world!

I personally pitch the entire starter. The yeast in suspension are the most active guys and the ones I want in my beer. Many people put the starter in the fridge to drop a lot of the yeast out of suspension, then decant most of the liquid, swirl around to dissolve the yeast cake, then pitch that. Both methods are tried and true!

Starters are to get yeast cell counts up, so replication is the main goal. That is why pitching at high krausen is practiced...the multiplication phase is mostly complete. High krausen is also when the yeast are most active, thus reducing lag time for them to get started with fermenting your main batch of beer.

I personally don't care whether I pitch at high krausen or let the yeast ferment out the starter...It usually just depends on when I am ready to pitch!

Now the last question I saved for another suggestion for your practices. Ditch the airlock and switch to a solid foam stopper or santized piece of foil (if I am ever in a pinch I just flame the foil before putting it on). This is where it ties into your last (middle) middle question.

Yeast NEED 02 to reproduce. Anytime in the fermenting process that the yeast are reproducing is when they need aeration. So aeration is good right before you pitch into the batch of wort or the hours following pitching. But aeration after the reproductive phase is over will just oxygenate your beer.

Simple answer, aerate at the beginning of fermentation, but never after fermentation is underway!

Aeration is also vital to yeast starters which is why I recommended ditching the airlock.

A starter needs as much 02 as possible, which is why many people use a stir plate or swirl the starter whenever they think about it. If there is any extra 02 in the starter liquid, it will get used by the yeast as they multiply again to ferment the beer after pitching, so you want to constantly aerate starters. The airlock prevents oxygen from getting in, which is good for main fermentation, but not for starters. The foil or stopper serves to minimize airborne microbes from getting in, but allowing oxygen to reach the starter wort!

Sorry for the long post! I hope it helps!

 

[ACbrewer]

Best recomendation for the yeast life cycle right now is Yeast By Chris White and Jamil Z. (short of taking a few college courses). I think your mistake won't be a problem. Go a head and brew tonight.

 

[Dara]

call me the stubborn upstart, but I think I will contact John Palmer and recommend he puts in a note to suggest 3 cups of water to boil with a 1/2 cup DME, since in 10 minutes one cup will evaporate!

Thanks for the speedy responses guys! I appreciate it for my first all grain batch tonight!