1stTime Yeast Propagation

[zargon]

Zargon Here…- New to this forum
I am a occasional Extract Brewer
Hoping to cross over to All Grain Some Day… 8)

I got all inspired and bought a “Yeast Flask” / kit from Northern recently and this is my first attempt to Grow some killer volumes of yeasty organisms.

I made a video here: http://youtu.be/VDKIMbjIgOk
Just wondering… am I doing it right?
Seems like a lot of big things floating around in the mix.???
I sanitized and sterilized and all that stuff… very carefully… not new to that… so I don’t think I contaminated anything. I thought it would be more of a smooth “Milky” mix… but I will be way more than happy to be wrong about that.

The video is from the 2nd fermentation of Boiled DME, 1 cup per 1500 ml of water - cooled to under 80ºƒ and then added to the yeast after I poured off nearly all the DME solution from the first round.
As shown in the Video… with the heat of the Stir-Plate the mixture is running in the mid to high 80’s.
I’m thinking… it’s not to hot… is it??? :roll:

Thanks for any and all feedback on this . :cheers:

[65ss427]

Let me guess-- is that Wyeast 1968 by any chance? If so, that videolooks just about right. I just did a two step starter with 1968 and it acted exactly like yours. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, it looks like you simply have a very flocculent yeast there, whatever the strain is. High 80’s IMO is getting up there for temps, but it should be ok for as starter. Just decant most of the wort of before you pitch it and you’ll be ok. Oh, and welcome to the forum. :cheers: Lots of good info and advice here. And good guys…

[flars]

I covered my stir plate with a piece of styrofoam cut from a plate to insulate the flask from the heat of the stir plate when I use glass. The container for my large starters is plastic. Plastic doesn’t transfer the heat to the starter wort. I used a fan to hold the wort at room temperature the first time I noticed the temperature was high.

[zargon]

Thanks for the “WARM” welcome.
I took the Yeast-Prop off the stir plate 'round 3pm yesterday. Let it set for a while and it settled out quickly and looks like “it should”? — The off to the fridge till next week - when I plan to strike a batch of “Killer IPA” .
I guess I’ll know if it’s still alive the day after
Just in case… I’ll run down to the local supply store and get a couple extra smack-pacs.

The insulation idea with the styrofoam sounds interesting. A small fan will definitely be used for my next foray into yeast propagation.

Let me guess-- is that Wyeast 1968 by any chance?

Anyway… I uploaded a “web page” to my domain - where you can see what yeast it was and how it looks this morning.

http://www.zargon.com/beer/yeast

Take a look see… let me know if there is a change in prognosis.

Thanks ALL :cheers:

I’m off to NC to see my niece - who is growing “TWINS” :cheers: