Yeast issue, quick answer needed!

[RobWalker]

Got my Hook Norton "old hooky" clone on, it's boiling right now. the yeast I have harvested from my previous batch using the tutorial in the how to section came out of the fridge this morning, i've tried to make a starter with it about 4 hours ago but no signs of activity using both glucose and dme. I don't have any yeast in the house aside from this - so simple choices really.

1 - pitch it anyway, will it be okay?

2 - go to LHBS on Tuesday and pick up yeast. how long will the wort keep in the bucket?

3 - go to 24hr tesco and pick up some bog standard yeast tonight.

 

[Mark1964]

you need to make a starter 4 days in advance of using it boil 200g spraymalt for 10 mins cool to pitching temp add yeast let it ferment out then add to your new beer. I would pitch it any way if it doesnt start in 24 hrs buy more yeast the wort will be ok for a while as long as its covered

 

[shocker]

Rob ,a few partial answers :

give the starter some citric and a bit of vit b and/or nutrient,see if that perks it...obviously you have it at optimim temp ,the yeast having been cold may take time to act up having been refridged,

even if no activity ,pitch anyway .You can seal the bucket ,right ? So with minimal air in there it should be OK until it works or doesnt and you have to pitch again .The yeast needs some oxygen to work so it shouldnt be TOO bad waiting .If you are sure its NOT a go-er , do you have any CO2 that you could squirt in to replace air and shield it ?

you have a 24 hr Tesco on sunday night ? Cool ! Do they have HB stuff ? If not ,I have used Jordans bread yeast ,the granules not the chuck and chance....its a sach. cerevisae (sp?) anyway ,just takes a bit of heavy duty fining and settling out.

hopefully some of the more knowledgable sorts will be along in time

 

[shocker]

Sorry ,Mark - wasnt implying you werent one of the savvy ones ,your post came up while I was typing mine....you were just one of the people I was hoping would weigh in ,for Robs sake

 

[mhewitson]

when i do a 'starter' i normally mix sugar, warm/hot water in a couple of pints of water.
the last time it took just a couple of hours to see some action in the stater. the Ferment took off like a bomb when it was pitched.

 

[Runwell-Steve]

when i do a 'starter' i normally mix sugar, warm/hot water in a couple of pints of water.
the last time it took just a couple of hours to see some action in the stater. the Ferment took off like a bomb when it was pitched.

You should always make a starter with malt, not sugar. The sugar in the starter needs to be maltose, not simple sugar. Yeast grown only on simple sugar will stop making the enzymes that enable them to break down the maltose, as your beer is mainly maltose this could result in yeast that won't attenuate properly.

 

[Mark1964]

was just writing the same thing

 

[Runwell-Steve]

was just writing the same thing

I was well primed, I read it in the yeast book last night.

 

[shocker]

Is that with previously refridgerated yeast though ? Rob ,did you let the teast get up to room temp before you made up the starter ? I would think that this could be a factor in slowing it down .

Is it possible that having a very weak yeast working ,albeit slowly ,could provide enough CO2 to shield the surface until you could get your preferred yeast into play ? Is it possible that a stronger ,bigger dose of the yeast that you want for the recipe will then overtake the weaker initial one and still give the attributes you wanted ?

thats interesting stuff Steve - I have been making starters with sugar ,glucose ,malt extract and combinations of for years ,I never gave it any in depth thought like attenuations .What about acids,vitamins ,nutrients etc etc in starters ? I often start the yeast by rehydrating from dried and prove ,that is ,get it acting on something sugary,and then take an amount of wort out and mix it with the proved yeast and keep it warm and covered until I get some good vigorous action and then pitch to the whole remaining wort . Its at the second stage (the wort mix starter) that I sometimes add some b-vit complex (powdered tablet) ,some citric and nutrient (DAP) . This is from advice I was given many ,many years ago by maltster grandads brewing friends but years and my faulty memory and misunderstanding may have got all this arse about face.

BUT where does this leave Rob ,now this minute with a hot wort and no yeast to pitch ? What should he do now ,with this batch ,given the options he has ?

 

[Runwell-Steve]

OK, to answer the OP's question, I would pitch what you have, it should get going but may be a bit slow. It won't be ideal but will be better than nothing. 24 hour tesco won't be open 24 hour on a sunday so unless another homebrewer near you has a packet of yeast I don't see you have much option.

 

[RobWalker]

I mixed the yeast with room temperature water about half an hour after it left the fridge. There seems to be some sort of activity going on, but it looks like bread mould on the top, which is a bit worrying! I know fermentation is ugly, but still, weird. would hate to see a brewing day go to waste because I couldn't be bothered to go 15 minutes down the road, especially seeing as it's the first real one with my dad. And yup, our big tesco has home brewing stuff. I don't like to buy from them, but hey, needs must :p

see, the reason I thought it was fine to start the starter on the day is because 1) I only finished harvesting the yeast today and I'm lazy like that and 2) the only other started i'd made was with a Gervin high alcohol wine yeast, which looked like a loaf of bread in about 30 minutes :rofl:

live and learn, I suppose...gotta wait until tonight to pitch the yeast anyway, so we'll see what's happening then. failing that, my dad is doing the LHBS owner's garden tomorrow - maybe he could sweet talk him without overstepping professional boundaries :p

 

[shocker]

Mate ,as long as the starter is showing SOME action I reckon you should be OK .Get it in there .Then if it doesnt pick up in a couple of days then nothings lost ,the small action should have protected the wort and you can pitch some more .

Whats up with shop hours in Brum ,then ? We are a lttle behind in cornwall and add to that I am notoriously slow but by my reckoning its sunday here...... :wha: :wha:

 

[RobWalker]

We have a big 24 hour tesco about 4 miles away that's always open...except for sunday nights after a little research, cheers runwell-steve for saving me a rubbish trip :p

I'm just not sure whether to pitch. There's definitely some action, but i'm just being paranoid for some reason. We have a HBS open tomorrow about 5 miles away and I'm headed that way, so may just wait and get some dry safale...

 

[shocker]

If its working at all ,chuck it in .Tell it I said so .Yeast is very suggestable :thumb:

 

[RobWalker]

here's what I'm looking at now...

 

[unclepumble]

here's what I'm looking at now...

If thats froth on the top from CO2 pitch it.

If its a white skin/mould or pellicle on top chuck it its infected, and go get some other yeast.

UP

 

[RobWalker]

well, i left it overnight and it looked great, like a mini full fermentation :)
i've pitched it about 5 hours ago, just waiting on full activity. if not, the hbs will be open tomorrow :)