I was planning on brewing a lager on Monday and had been preparing a starter. The yeast was a bit old so required a stepped up starter. I brewed up a 2L starter, chilled, decanted and topped up with another 2L. I put the foil back in place. I've just been to check- clearly it was quite a vigarous second ferment as there has been some over-spill- the foil was stuck to the outside of the flask and the inside of the flask above the wort level was coated in thick dried yeast residue. The outside of this dried residue on the inside of the foil had a dark appearance. Is this just oxidised yeast or contamination- I used starsan but I'm aware it doesn't deal with mould spores.
The starters always taste rubbish so I can't use the taste. It smells okay.
Should I carry on with the planned brew or do an ale (I've got another liquid yeast "in stock" but it's for an ale)?
I'm considering sterilising my spare flask and a syphon tube and syphoning the yeast starter into a second flask and letting it settle before decanting- I don't fancy syphoning the entire lot (including 2L of fermented DME) into the wort yet I don't fancy carrying on as normal and decanting over the top of the grotty dried yeast on the inside lip.
Any thoughts? Having spent the week mucking around with a 2-stage starter I'd rather use it but if it's going to inevitably ruin the brew I'd rather bail...
Is my starter knackered?
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Jocky
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Re: Is my starter knackered?
I would clean the top of the neck and the lip of the flask, and then sterilise it with surgical spirit before decanting off the liquid or otherwise pitching it.
Gunk on the inside of the flask will not be infectious, but the stuff on the outside could be.
Gunk on the inside of the flask will not be infectious, but the stuff on the outside could be.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.
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BenB
Re: Is my starter knackered?
Ay. I've decanted it as advised. I'll check the s.g. and for any signs of a pellicle before brewing. If it's good I'll brew otherwise just go for an ale and use the smack pack without a starter.
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BenB
Re: Is my starter knackered?
Update!
Brewed the Oktoberfest a month ago and it's been lagering for a few weeks, decided to crack one open last night to check. No point lagering for three months and then finding it's drain fodder.
Pretty sure it's infected. It reminds me of one of my first beers I made that got infected with mould. It has a slight musty / earthy smell to it and there's a flavour in it that isn't right. It's not over-whelming- still drank the thing! I left the bottles at 20 degC for a couple of weeks after priming before chilling it down and lagering and yet it's still overly sweet and very lightly carbed (aimed for 3 volumes). I might crack open another bottle this week and check the SG- see how it compares to the FG at bottling. Indeed when I checked the FG it was apparent it had over-attenuated (for the yeast strain) so I wonder whether that also points to an infection. It's a strange flavour profile, starts okay with a bit of bitterness, then goes a bit dank/mouldy/basement then ends sweet. Good body to it (probably the sugar), no significant carbonation to mention- few bubbles.
Oh well lesson learned- don't make a starter late at night and leave it cooling passively at room temps overnight. Get it chilled and pitch the yeast ASAP! Particularly if there's been a boil over and the outside of the flask is coated in starter medium! In fact don't make starters at all at night after a few beers (too many?), wait till the morning and do it properly
Oh well, hardly surprising- that flask did look flipping grusome!
Brewed the Oktoberfest a month ago and it's been lagering for a few weeks, decided to crack one open last night to check. No point lagering for three months and then finding it's drain fodder.
Pretty sure it's infected. It reminds me of one of my first beers I made that got infected with mould. It has a slight musty / earthy smell to it and there's a flavour in it that isn't right. It's not over-whelming- still drank the thing! I left the bottles at 20 degC for a couple of weeks after priming before chilling it down and lagering and yet it's still overly sweet and very lightly carbed (aimed for 3 volumes). I might crack open another bottle this week and check the SG- see how it compares to the FG at bottling. Indeed when I checked the FG it was apparent it had over-attenuated (for the yeast strain) so I wonder whether that also points to an infection. It's a strange flavour profile, starts okay with a bit of bitterness, then goes a bit dank/mouldy/basement then ends sweet. Good body to it (probably the sugar), no significant carbonation to mention- few bubbles.
Oh well lesson learned- don't make a starter late at night and leave it cooling passively at room temps overnight. Get it chilled and pitch the yeast ASAP! Particularly if there's been a boil over and the outside of the flask is coated in starter medium! In fact don't make starters at all at night after a few beers (too many?), wait till the morning and do it properly
Oh well, hardly surprising- that flask did look flipping grusome!