did I kill my yeast?

Ok, so I did something real stupid. I made 2L starter last night for my washed yeast and for the most part all was going well. I left the starter cool down for a while. I checked the temp a little while longer and it was around 120 deg so I left it alone. This is when I screwed up.....

I got distracted then came back to the kitchen and without thinking I started adding my yeast slurry to the starter without checking the temp again. By the time I realized what I did, all my yeast was already in my flask. At this point the temp was in the 90 -100 degree range. I tried to cool it down by running the flash under cold water and I got it down in the low 80s then put it on my stir plate.

My question is, do you think I killed my yeast with the high starter temps? Also is there any way to look at my starter to see if the yeast it dead? Like if the yeast is all dead will it still be creamy white or will it look like trub?


ps the yeast is notty

There's a good chance that at least some of the yeast survived, and maybe most of it. You may have shocked it a little and it could take some time to recover. The best way to tell is to leave it sit for a day or so at room temperature and see what happens. On the stip place you should see an increase in the yeast growth over time, although it may be a little harder to tell. If you set it off the plate and have bubbles in your airlock and a krausen forming, you have live yeast. If nothing happens over the next couple of days, you may need to start over.

yeast start to die out around 120*F. they'll be fine at 90-100. i believe that the big boys (wyeast, white labs, etc) grow their yeast in the mid-80's.

biggest concern i would have is that you cooled the starter too much. the yeast got all comfy in the 80's and 90's, but you lowered it down to the low 70's. yeast don't like to be cooled too much, makes them go dormant. so if you're not getting any action, cool the starter even more (throw it in the fridge), then take it out and let it warm up to room temp. that'll hit the reset button.

Thanks for the replys

Yup, yeast are happiest around 86F, so 90-100 is no problem for them. They don't make good beer at those temps, though.