Let Starter Ferment Out?

[.DJ.]

I (stupidly) made up a one litre started for a pack of Belgian Saison Wyeast This yeast from probably 4 months old so I should have made up a smaller one and stepped it up (long story, but I did it) <_<



Anyway, itsseems to be fermenting along very slowly (for 4 days now) Is there anything I should do to try and save it? Let it ferment out, chill, pour off beer and start again smaller? Chill immediately, pour off wort and start again? Or should I just buy another packet?

 

[stef]

If it's fermenting fine, i'm not sure what the problem is? I'd probably just pour the beer off once its finished, add fresh wort and let it ferment again to make sure they're all nice and strong!

 

[.DJ.]

but its fermenting REALLY slowly (nil krausen) so I wondered if the yeast was stressed to the point of it not being useful to re-use...

 

[CosmicBertie]

but its fermenting REALLY slowly (nil krausen) so I wondered if the yeast was stressed to the point of it not being useful to re-use...

To be honest, when making starters from smack-packs i've never had much of a krausen. Only when making starters from a bottle of yeast cake have I had it jumping out of the top.

Is it fermenting? Can you see bubbles rising through the wort? The best way to see if its stressed is to taste it, and if its rank, then bin it. If not, and its still fermenting, then pitch it! I've found that pitching an actively fermenting starter gets me the quickest results (Thanks Screwtop! )

 

[.DJ.]

yeah, its fermenting... smells like beer so no infection...

Maybe I should RAHAHB....

 

[Bizier]

I would this one ferment out and use the yeast in another starter. If the second starter doesn't seem to have a visibly healthy ferment, then swap the yeast, or repeat the process until you have noticeably virile yeast. Screw making a saison with tired yeast.

 

[loikar]

Anyway, itsseems to be fermenting along very slowly (for 4 days now) Is there anything I should do to try and save it? Let it ferment out, chill, pour off beer and start again smaller? Chill immediately, pour off wort and start again? Or should I just buy another packet?

Give it a stir
does it foam up to fuckkery?
heaps of Co2 bubbles coming up to the surface?
if so, pitch that bitch.

BF

 

[esssee]

Wyeast Belgian Saison is a slow fermenter. I have one on the go in the Garage. Very slow 1.039 to 1.023 in 8 days. Thin layer of krausen.

What temp is the starter at? It likes it warm.

 

[.DJ.]

its just ambient... anywhere from 22-28... move to garage to kick along?

 

[BOG]

It's just a lazy yeast.

I have an english yeast doing the same thing at present.
Shack the bottle, do you get gas up, then it's fine.

some yeats have more finese and less mongrel.


BOG

 

[cdbrown]

Temp is fine, I wouldn't want to increase it more than that - give it a good swirl every time you think of it to help it along (or put it on a stirplate). For my starters on a stirplate there is no krausen at all due to the stirring.

 

[peas_and_corn]

Decant off the excess starter, pitch yeast into your beer. Don't worry, it'll be fine.

 

[.DJ.]

thanks for the tips... hopefully it all sorts itself out!