Not a big fan of 2 step starters

[maierhof]

Frustrated tonight - went through the entire process of making 10 gallons of my Oktoberfest and for the first time hit all my numbers and all targets. Started yeast starter two days before the brew - by the time I got to the yeast starter second step all was well. After that it all goes downhill... when I smelled the second step of the starter I gotta say as I laugh it smelled like a bad fart for a few hours then it smelled like esters so I figured the yeast won the fight. That and when I watched the co2 release in my blow off jar next to my starter there was barely any co 2 release - like an eighth of what normally happens. When I smelled it after I took it out of the the second cold crash it smelled just fine. 2 days into my fermentation now I still have no co2 blow off in my in my blow off jar but it smells like esters in my chest freezer now so I'm thinking there's a leak in my new fermentation top that I bought from brew hardware. Either way I'm toast I fear... we will see. I am going to stay strong and not open until after 10 days just to be sure.

Has anyone figured out a stir plate that can be used on a thin bottom stainless steel keg yet? Lol
I would love to just put the 1.5g in a keggle, add the yeast and then just add the second 1.5 gallons for the second step without the risk of infection from the first step runoff or anything else... can I do that: just add the second step wort to the first mixture without running anything off?

 

[Iseneye]

I was pressed for time one brew and did a two step starter without cold crashing and decanting. Brew turned out fine. Did a 1200ml starter, stir plated for 24 hours then added another 3000ml (or something like that) directly to the first starter.

 

[ram5ey]

I will never understand the need of so many brewers to smell their starters. If you must, remember that this isn't drinking beer, it's more of a yeast growth medium. It will most likely smell very different that a fermenting beer. The balance of yeast to sugar make a starter a very inhospitable environment for other bugs as the yeast will win out. This is another benefit to starters as they also create a more inhospitable enviro end in your beer by their sheer numbers when added to the wort. This isn't to say that you shouldn't worry about cleanliness and sanitation, but I've heard so many stories of people dumping starters that "smelled funny" and I just can't believe that they were all really infected.

I don't know exactly that your starter process looks like but it seems like using a blow off tube for a starter isn't gonna allow for oxygen exchange for growing the yeast. Just a thought.

 

[Firewalker11]

Yupper, been there, awful smells, very little activity but was pitched anyway. Beer was great infact, very pleasant nose. No worries, ignore the starter and pitch.

 

[catdaddy66]

My beers have come out much better since I began using yeast starters. I generally do two steps but on bigger beers I'll do a third step. The smell has always been pleasant, usually sweet and/or fruity.

 

[Bassman2003]

You will just have to wait this one out like you stated.

No problem if you have a leak in your fermenter. The beer will ferment just fine and contamination will be unlikely. When I toured the old Pilser Urquell brewery they had open vats of the lager chugging away. We could have sneezed into it.

Different yeasts will act differently. Even within the same strain. Some go crazy some just get down to business without a lot of fuss to see. It is always more relaxing to see huge foam but it is not always the case. As you said, be strong and let us know what you find on the other side.

 

[maierhof]

Thanks for all the posts, I realy appreciate it.

To me using my nose to smell yeast is just one more sense that I use to make sure everything's okay. I guess it comes from years of cooking and baking and I don't know life. To me I can't understand why anyone would not smell their yeast in all stages. That's just me I guess...

It is nice to know that I can pitch my second stage right into the same flask as the first. Thank you...

As I ferment in a sanke and use a tri clover connection on top, the leak is going to be very small - but big enough not to push the air through the blow off tube. The reason I mentioned the different smell then what I'm used to is because I'm pretty sure it picked up an infection somewhere - the question will really be will the yeast win? And if so what did it do to the taste? I guess that is what I love about this hobby - always another experiment.