Starter tastes very bitter.

[TheRedDarren]

I top cropped some yeast from my last brew into a sterile plastic jug covered with sanitised foil and left it to ferment out in the fv with the beer, then transferred it to the fridge where it's been sat for maybe a week, or slightly less.
I'm planning to just pitch it without a starter, and I've just pulled it out of the fridge to come up to room temperature so I had a taste check and my god it's bitter! There's no real off flavour just very bitter.
The thing that worries me slightly is that there was a fruit fly floating in it.
What do you reckon, will it be ok or not?
Problem is I don't have an alternative yeast to use at home, I don't fancy waiting a few days while I get one delivered... I could nip to Wilkos and get a dried yeast sachet but I don't think they do us05 down there, only gervin.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Actually as it's coming up to room temp there is a sour taste in there.
Bit like a cottonwool mouth thing, and an odour of cardboard.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't think you will find many (if any) here have tasted it. :lol:

 

[TheRedDarren]

I don't think you will find many (if any) here have tasted it. :lol:

Haha! I know a few do...
@MyQul certainly does, I'm waiting to see what he thinks!

Anyway, what do you reckon Chippy?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I reckon some members here are mad. :lol:

 

[TheRedDarren]

Well, we are normally drunk...

 

[BeerCat]

Interesting subject. I just top cropped last night. Never tasted starter but couldn't it be bitter due to the hops? Hope it turns out for you. Let us know what happens.

 

[MyQul]

@Chippy_Tea I certainly do have slurp of my starter wort. Gives you an idea of what ester the yeast will give your beer (if any)

@TheRedDarren Normally my starters taste like beer with no late additions as I usually use my own wort for staters prior to adding the flavour/aroma hops. If the starter was bitter I wouldnt necessarily be worried but you say you found a fruit fly in it and it was sour. I'd definately not use it then as a sour flavour is an indication of infection

 

[Chippy_Tea]

@Chippy_Tea I certainly do have slurp of my starter wort. Gives you an idea of what ester the yeast will give your beer (if any)

WOW i thought it was just some strange thing (very few) brewers did like sniffing airlocks i didn't think there was a "proper" reason for doing it.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Oops. Bit late. I pitched it!
I'll update as and when lol!

 

[IainM]

Hope it turns out ok.

I taste the starter as a matter of principle. I make it up with DME, so the starter wort is basically plain beer without any hops. It gives an indication of how the base tastes, on which you build the beer up with bittering and hop additions. I also taste the grain first. I even tried a hop once. Never again. Hahaha.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Thanks mate, I'd usually say I'm not worried but I'm intrigued about whether this one will be ok...!
My missus is a microbiologist and she tasted the starter too and thought there was no sourness only bitterness, she felt confident that it would be ok so I went for it!
At least I'll have someone to blame ;-)
I taste everything to honest, raw grain, starters and trial jar samples.
Never tried a hop though! I might do that even though you'd advise not to!

 

[Covrich]

Thanks mate, I'd usually say I'm not worried but I'm intrigued about whether this one will be ok...!
My missus is a microbiologist and she tasted the starter too and thought there was no sourness only bitterness, she felt confident that it would be ok so I went for it!
At least I'll have someone to blame ;-)
I taste everything to honest, raw grain, starters and trial jar samples.
Never tried a hop though! I might do that even though you'd advise not to!

Offloaded asccountabbility nice!!

I always slurp the starters because it gives you an idea of what the yeast brings to the table..

If its ruined then you can blame her and she can have no quarrel in you doing another brew day

 

[BeerCat]

Thanks mate, I'd usually say I'm not worried but I'm intrigued about whether this one will be ok...!
My missus is a microbiologist and she tasted the starter too and thought there was no sourness only bitterness, she felt confident that it would be ok so I went for it!
At least I'll have someone to blame ;-)
I taste everything to honest, raw grain, starters and trial jar samples.
Never tried a hop though! I might do that even though you'd advise not to!

I wouldn't recommend having a slurp on liquid hops either as i found out.

 

[TheRedDarren]

I wouldn't recommend having a slurp on liquid hops either as i found out.

Now that does sound revolting!!

 

[TheRedDarren]

Well it's down to fg and there's no hint of infection, so I'll bottle it and hope that there's no nasties to continue nobbling on sugar.

Got away with that one! *toucheshead*