I just made a Vienna Lager and did a started with Wyeast 2206. For the starter, with out thinking about it, I did this at 68 degrees for 20 hours. Chilled my wort to 68 degrees added the starter and put it into an area that was 51 degrees. It’s fermenting like a champ.
Should I have did the yeast starter at 51 degrees? Any thoughts on this?
You should be fine. Such a small amount of yeast/starter is going to acclimate to the overall temp of the wort very quickly. As long as fermentation never went above the low 50’s you should be alright.
[quote=“Klosterbräu”]I just made a Vienna Lager and did a started with Wyeast 2206. For the starter, with out thinking about it, I did this at 68 degrees for 20 hours. Chilled my wort to 68 degrees added the starter and put it into an area that was 51 degrees. It’s fermenting like a champ.
Should I have did the yeast starter at 51 degrees? Any thoughts on this?[/quote]
Most lager brewers agree it’s the best practice to chill to or even a few degrees below your desired fermentation temp for pitching.
2206 is my go to lager for my vienna and munich dunkel. I chill to 46-48 degrees and pitch the starter which is colder, having just been taken from the fridge and decanted. I let the temp rise to 50-52 range and try to hold it there until the krausen falls. Then I raise to low 60s for a D rest prior to lagering.
Sorry, I misread your post. I thought you said you pitched 68 degree starter into 51 degree wort. As Danny said, you should always have your wort chilled to fermentation temps (or a little below) before pitching. This is true for both lagers and ales.
It is ok to have your starter ferment at a higher temperature than you plan to ferment your beer at, but I wouldn’t go too much higher - certainly not out of the yeast’s recommend range. I would also be sure to bring the yeast to within a few degrees of wort temperature and decant the liquid before pitching.
