I did a starter last night with wyeast 1056, seems to be bubbling a bit slower then i’m used to only every 20 seconds or so. is this still a good starter to use if it doesn’t seem active enough?? was going to brew today and wanted to make sure before i started. :?:
probably should have made the starter a day sooner. it might not be ready to pitch yet.
thanx for the reply, i can wait till tomorrow if needed. so you think its just not ready yet? i know with a starter it usually bubbles pretty good. i’ve got it at 65 deg and it hasn’t been 24 hours yet.
I’d step it up again before brewing. Either way, you will probably be OK. Sometimes starters are rather quick and then quiet.
What is bubbling, an airlock? Not recommended with a starter.
Also, you really should make the starter 3-4 days (min) in advance so you have tome to cold crash and pour off the nasty beer rather than add thid to your batch.
yes using an airlock got the starter kit from northern brewer, didn’t know that wasn’t recommended as it came with the kit? i was just being in a hurry i guess, i know 2-3 days is recommended guess i just had very active starters after a day or so that iv’e done before. how would i do a starter without an airlock , foam stopper??
also this is my step up, which is why my concern in it’s sluggishness
65 is a good fermentation temp for 1056 but your starter can and probably should be warmer. Remember, you’re not making beer, you’re culturing yeast. If you have a warmer place to put it that’s a good start. Also, +1 on the use of a foam stopper instead of an airlock. Not a big deal though. The idea isn’t necessarily to pitch actively fermenting yeast, (although this can speed things along) it’s to pitch a greater amount of healthy yeast cells than what comes in a smack pack or vile. What was the gravity of your starter wort? What’s the planned gravity of your beer? How big a starter did you make?
starter size is 650 ml built up twice, o.g . should be at 1.054 haven’t brewed yet, waiting to make sure yeast starter is good, brewing a smashing pumpkin ale not sure what it will end at yet. thanx for all the help yeast starters are still very new to me.
Find yourself a gallon jug and make a 3qt starter from the get go.
Now you have me a little more confused. Please explain “650 ml, built up twice”. If you make a starter from a smack pack, let it completely ferment and then decant and add fresh wort, it should take off like a rocket the second time.
Now you have me a little more confused. Please explain “650 ml, built up twice”. If you make a starter from a smack pack, let it completely ferment and then decant and add fresh wort, it should take off like a rocket the second time.[/quote]
+1
By “build up” I assume you mean you added more wort to your starter after you initially made it. For a 5 gallon batch planned at 1.054 this is beyond overkill! Have you plugged in your info on Mr Malty or other such pitch rate calculator? You can easily do a starter for a 1.054 brew in one step. Every time you mess with it you add another opportunity for infection. The idea is to pitch enough yeast, not to achieve some activity level at pitching time. Pick up a copy of “Yeast”, by Jamil Zainishef. Great read and all your questions and then some will be answered…
thanx for all the input , and yes i know it was probably overkill but i didnt know about mr malty before now, also i did let it ferment fully the first time then poured off the wort and added fresh wort, only becouse it was so sluggish in fermenting the first time and figured it should take off like a rocket as was stated by 560sdl but it didn’t. thats why i was concerned about brewing anything with the yeast not being very active, i will get a copy of "yeast " to learn more about starters and such. Thanx all for the help.
