I’m preparing to brew a Kolsch beer this week.
Using NB all grain and Wyeast-#2565-Kolsch yeast.
The yeast has been stored in the frig for 2 or 3 weeks while I battled gout in the legs.
Last evening I mixed up a starter (2 c water, 1/2 c malt) and hoped to see a little action this morning. It is just sitting there looking like muddy water.
Should I be seeing something?
Did I harm the yeast with the delay?
Thanks
It will be fine. Continue to shake your starter as often as possible. If you used Fermcap S then it’s common not to see a substantial krausen or any krausen at all. I have yeast a year old and it comes back to life eventually.
I’m sure it’s fine. I’ve used that yeast With a starter before for a kolsch and it turned out great. It is a little different if you’re used to more common ale yeast so it may require some patience. My experience is that it fermented for a while at a colder temp but stalled until I put it at just below room temp and it finished out very dry and crisp.
The storage time can be an issue BUT not the most important issue. The manufacturing date or best by date is more important. Regardless if you give it time it will come back to life. Albeit you may need another step to get the proper pitch amount. Hard to tell without the date though.
It has been 36 hours and the yeast still looks like stale muddy water.
It may have life in it, but starting a brew with questionable yeast seems a bad idea.
I’m going to order up Safale US-05 and delay the brew day.
This was my first attempt at liquid yeast. Looks like a lot more fuss for questionable benefits.
There’s something else at play. I use liquid yeast primarily and have never had an issue. So IMO this isn’'t a dry vs liquid question. How often are you shaking the starter or is it on a stir plate? Did you use Fermcap?
Also 2 cups of water is a tiny amount for a starter. It could be it finished before you noticed. I’ve never done less than 1 liter as a starter and I am usually in the 1.5 to 2 liter range.
Do you know the manufactured date of the yeast? Did the smack pack inflate? I’m thinking the yeast is old. Or it could have been improperly stored/handled along the way. Another brewer once said to me “you have to treat kolsch yeast like a delicate flower.”
That was my thought as well. I follow a tried and true starter recipe that I looked up years ago. Generally 1 liter shaken not stirred yeast starters(SNSYS).
It sounds way too concentrated…the SG of starters is pretty weak by design…1.030 or so.
Once more for those interested and/or not already employing this simple elegant starter approach: New starter procedure trial
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Check the manufacturing date, it shouldn’t be the same after 36 hrs, there really seems another issue
I read a recipe somewhere for starter using 2 c water/1/2 c malt. No caution stated dry vs liquid yeast.
Sorry, but the pack was discarded. Also, I saw no package inflation. Broke the little internal pack and the contents swished around inside like before.
The liquid yeast was a Kolsch style. Replacing with Safale US-05. I hope that does not alter the final product.
Thanks for your inputs guys.
