Yeast Starter - Urgent Problem!

[Nigel]

I am brewing a big beer today (AHS Tripel IPA) so I thought I should make a starter. Beersmith said that I needed to make a 6 qt starter. The only thing I had to make a starter of this size was my 5 gal carboy. I made it on Wednesday and cold crashed it overnight last night (Friday) in the garage since I don't have a fridge that I can put the carboy in. I was planning on pouring off the DME starter and doing my all grain brew today. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it was cold enough out there (the temp on the fermometer now says 42 degrees) and although quite a lot of the yeast has settled to the bottom the beer is still pretty cloudy with a little airlock activity. What should I do? Should I put the carboy in a freezer that we have for a few hours to cool it down to 34 degrees or something or wait a day or two for more of the yeast to settle? I was planning on brewing this afternoon so any quick replies would be REALLY appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[TheBrewLebowski]

I wouldn't worry about the lack of activity in the airlock. A 5 gal carboy with only 6 qts in it leaves a ton of head space for the co2 to have to fill before it starts pushing air out. Also, in my somewhat limited experience, starters aren't really all that fussy. Each one that I made behaved a bit differently than the last, but they all got the job done. I would just use what you have now, and not worry about it. The beer will be good when it's done.

 

[skeaterbait]

Take this for what it's worth as I am brand new to brewing but I have found that it takes several days for the yeast to settle (or at least the cloudiness to go away). You could always pitch the whole starter but that, I am guessing, would drastically change the outcome.

 

[Revvy]

The only "activity" that means anything in a starter is the band of yeast at the bottom, which it sounds like you have...So you're good to go. If you don't feel that it's flocculated enough and there's still plenty of yeast still in solution, the answer is simple- Just don't decant it, pitch it ALL in starter beer and all.....

No big thing.

 

[Sardoman]

I wouldn't even try to decant the spent starter beer off of the yeast in a carboy. With the narrow neck in the top, you'd have to turn the carboy nearly upside down to get it out anyway. Considering this kit is supposed to start at OG=1.083, you need as much of that yeast as you can use.

Here's what I would do: use an autosiphon to remove about half of the spent beer off of the yeast. Then siphon a gallon or two of fresh wort onto the yeast and swirl the carboy to break up the yeast chunks and get it all into a thin slurry. Invert the carboy over the fermenter to pitch. Last step, order a 2L flask and a 4L flask online so this process will be easier next time.

Have a great brew day!

 

[Nigel]

Thanks for all of your replies. My post was a little misleading in that I am not to concerned about the lack of airlock activity. The main issue is what to do about all of the yeast in solution. The autosiphon idea seems a good approach Sardoman. I will give it a try, and of course the bigger flask from LHBS!