Bad tasting yeast starter

[Seeker]

I always taste my starters, and normally they just taste flat and beery.

This starter tastes like the worst home brew twang you can imagine. Kind of plasticy.

It's not like what I would consider to be an infection taste though.


It's made from kettle trub.

Beer is a partial mash stout, with a tin of Coopers ( I think ) draught tipped in at flame out.

Yeast is Guiness yeast and starter is 1.5 litres. The yeast was a bit old and it took off a bit sluggish, so it's had about 3 days for vigorous shaking which could account for it?


What do you think?

1. decant and pitch?
2. flush and pitch dry yeast?

 

[Seeker]

It also tastes quite sweet, but there's a thick layer of yeast at the bottom.

 

[hirschb]

Plastic flavor is often from phenols.... that could have been caused by a warm fermentation temp and/or Brett infection.
Depending on the age of the yeast/trub and the storage conditions, you might of picked up some yeast autolysis flavors. I'd google the flavor profiles of these two beer "faults" and try to match the descriptions to your taste-experience.

 

[TheWiggman]

This starter tastes like the worst home brew twang you can imagine. Kind of plasticy.

Plasticy is exactly how I would describe an infection (well... 3) I have got in the past. Should be no plastic element to it. I'd turf it.

 

[TheWiggman]

Plastic flavor is often from phenols.... that could have been caused by a warm fermentation temp and/or Brett infection.
Depending on the age of the yeast/trub and the storage conditions, you might of picked up some yeast autolysis flavors. I'd google the flavor profiles of these two beer "faults" and try to match the descriptions to your taste-experience.

Guinness yeast quoted so I assume Wyeast 1084. You'd be hard-pressed to develop phenols in that yeast from high ferment temps in a starter.

 

[Killer Brew]

Medicinal / plastic flavours could be from a reaction with chlorine or from wild yeast. Or an infection. I wouldn't risk adding to the wort. Well done on picking it up before you destroyed a batch.

 

[Seeker]

Thanks guys, I'll bin it.

I've just tasted it again, and it's also astringent.

It tastes that bad you could only spit it out.

 

[Seeker]

Well I pitched dry yeast, but I kept the starter and it now tastes much better, more like green stout.

I'll let it be for a week and see how it goes.