[quote=“Denny”][quote=“beermebeavis”]didn’t see where you told us the starter volume…
One thing I would consider, which hasn’t been mentioned, is the “oxidation factor.” The liquid in your starter is highly oxidized by shaking, etc. That is why IMO it is desired to always minimize adding it to your wort. What I do is let yeast cold crash a few days, then pour off the majority ot the liquid. Leave a little liquid atop the yeast cake to swish around, then dump it into your fermenter.[/quote]
THIS^^^^
THIS^^^^^ is incorrect. Starter wort is oxygenated, meaning it is full of dissolved O2. This is desirable at this point in the fermentation process. In contrast, oxidation is a packaging and storage issue, primarily for filtered and/or pasteurized beer (yeast is either physically removed or thermally destroyed to halt any additional yeast action) or beer that has been improperly handled and/or stored anywhere along the supply chain from brewer to consumer. The living yeast in your starter wort will scavenge that oxygen from wort during active fermentation. Here is some relevant information on the subject:
Here is the money quote:
And yes, starter beer tastes horrible. So does any beer that has only been fermenting for 24 - 36 hours. The yeast will consume the fermentation byproducts that cause those awful flavors during the conditioning phase, after the supply of easily fermentable sugars has been exhausted.
Here is some relevant information on that subject:
[quote]The final act — the conditioning phase: The reactions that take place during conditioning are primarily a function of the yeast. The vigorous, primary stage is over, the majority of the wort sugars have been converted to alcohol, and a lot of the yeast cells are going dormant — but some are still active.
Flavor effects. During the earlier phases, the yeast produced many compounds in addition to ethanol and carbon dioxide (acetaldehyde, esters, amino acids, ketones-diacetyl, pentanedione, and dimethyl sulfide, for example). By the time the kräusen has subsided, the yeast has eaten the easy food and now turns its attention toward the heavier sugars such as maltotriose and dextrins, as well as to the reprocessing of its own undesirable by-products.
Diacetyl and pentanedione are two ketones that have buttery and honey-like flavors. These flavors are considered flaws when present in large amounts, and the compounds responsible cause flavor stability problems during storage. The compound acetaldehyde is a specific aldehyde that has a pronounced green apple smell and taste. It is an intermediate compound in the production of ethanol, and is reduced during the later stages of fermentation. Primary fermentation also produces an array of fusel alcohols that often give harsh solvent-like tastes to beer. During secondary fermentation, yeast converts many fusel alcohols to more pleasant-tasting fruity esters.[/quote]