Yeast Starter - Failed?

[daryl]

I purchased a Wyeast American Ale smack pack.

I allowed the package to reach room temp...and then smacked it...I know it successfully released the nutrients. And then let it set for a good hour or two. And it expanded, so there was some type of activity.

Then, I took some of the Wort Rally wort (unboiled) and dumped in the yeast.

I have had this on stir plate, and have aggressively stirred it...so I know it is well oxygenated.

Nothing is happening....when I turn off the stir plate, the yeast settles and the wort begins to clear.

Thoughts?

I am going to add more wort tonight...what I usually make from DME as per Palmer.

[mjensen52402]

Be patient. I've grown starters from BIY's bargain bin that were 2 years expired. Exponential growth. You could be 2 cell division cycles from gold.

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[daryl]

It was still dead this morning. So I added a 1/2 pint of yeast starter from DME, we'll see if it gets kick started.

I have a hard time believing the packet is dead...was manufactured in January...and the package expanded once the internal packet was broken.

We'll see what the next 24 hours brings.

[tony b]

Good luck. Having just recently experienced a stuck fermentation, fingers crossed yours doesn't suffer the same fate!

[Matt F]

Did the starter ferment out completely? I have had starters blow,through in a hurry. Once I let it settle you can see,there is,more yeast.

[daryl]

I added some more wort yesterday, that is what I was observing...more settlement.....so I took a sample and ran it through the refractometer, and sure enough, the gravity is dropping.

Wyeast 1056 American Ale sure ferments differently from Wyeast 1007 German Ale.

The German Ale Yeast fermentation is very vigorous and it krausens...I has one starter blow out several times. And it stores well - I have some in a Ball Canning jar in the fridge, if anyone is interested in trying some.

The Wyeast 1056 American Ale, it is doing its job, but I kinda just sits there. Compared to the German Ale, it's the couch potato of yeasts.

[tony b]

A tortoise and hare situation - LOL!

[daryl]

I am interested in seeing what the American Ale yeast does....these are really very different.

I plan to keep on banking the German Ale yeast. If the product turns out well, I will keep regenerating. Yeast is the most expensive part of my brew at this time.

I'll bank the American too, if I like the results.

[mjensen52402]

I found a 1 kg block of Safale-05 in my freezer. It expired in 2014. Still works like a champ. I pitch 16 g/batch. I'm good for my next 60 batches.

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[tony b]

Dude, that's almost literally a shit-ton of yeast!

[daryl]

Which one is the couch potato....I added new wort to both of these today. The one one the left (Bedford Ale) had a 3 hour jump on the one on the right (German Ale). The German Ale is ready to blow within a hour....what a beast!

I also rescued a Bohemian Lager yeast....I had two packages, should have only used one. It too, is a couch potato.

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[mjensen52402]

In October I bought a pack of 1318. Yesterday I pitched it into my 8th beer, and 9th starter.

I'm gonna ride this pony until it does me dirty.

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[daryl]

Wyeast 1318 - London Ale III - What beers have you fermented with it?

I've ordered some storage tubes, like what White Labs use to use. I plan to use them to keep a modest yeast library. At this point, it is one of my more expensive ingredients....next are hops....but I don't see me growing replacements for those anytime soon. The pellets are just too convenient.

[mjensen52402]

I did a blonde, my Irish Export/Foreign Extra Stout, A pale ale, one of my Wort Rally beers. The rest were all NEIPAs.

[mjensen52402]

I use nalgene bottles for storage. I read something last week about the pint food storage containers work great