I have done it [starter] without a stirplate and find it to be a hassle. If you let it sit for more than 15 minutes there is clear separation between yeast and wort.
So? That doesn't mean the yeast isn't working!
When you pitch the yeast into your main batch of beer, do you swirl the carboy every 10-15 minutes to try and keep the yeast from settling to the bottom? No, of course not.
The shaking/swirling of the starter is to knock the dissolved CO2 out of solution and mix in more oxygen, to assist the yeast in multiplying. But if you've thoroughly aerated the starter wort initially, there should still be plenty of oxygen in solution for them to complete their reproductive cycle, even if you only get around to swirling/shaking it every few hours.
you even said yourself a stirplate speeds things up a lot so if it normally takes 2-3 days on a stirplate, im not about to slosh yeast for a week straight!
As someone else pointed out, a starter on a stir plate is usually completely finished within 24 hours. But even without a stir plate, it should finish and be ready for cold-crashing or pitching after 3 days, at most.
bethebrew said:
I make big beers always, and that's what I use. One pack dry. Sprinkle on the wort
If you're happy with your beer, then that's all that matters, but for the benefit of newcomer brewers who might be reading this, I feel compelled to point out that you are wildly underpitching your beers, and that as good as they may be, they could be even better if you pitched the proper amount of yeast.
One dry pack of yeast,
properly rehydrated, is enough for 5 gallons of moderate gravity (1.040) ale wort. However, you said you "always" make big beers, which would connote that one pack is insufficient, and you should be pitching more. Furthermore, you're sprinkling the dry yeast directly onto the wort instead of rehydrating it, which according to the book "Yeast" (White/Zainasheff) results in only roughly half of the yeast surviving.
bethebrew said:
AS RECOMMENDED BY SAFEALE
Safale is the product line, Fermentis is the company. And they do in fact recommend rehydrating it in water, as described
here, in the product information sheet.
Sprinkle the yeast in minimum 10 times its weight of sterile water or wort at 27°C ± 3°C (80°F ± 6°F). Leave to rest 15 to 30 minutes.
Gently stir for 30 minutes, and pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel.
They do describe an alternate procedure of sprinkling it into the wort dry, but the preferred procedure is rehydration. Research demonstrates that you achieve higher yeast viability using rehydration. The "direct sprinkling" method is intended for inexperienced brewers, to not scare them away. It is not portrayed as the ideal method, much like the instructions on Coopers brewing kits are not the ideal method for brewing the best possible beer using their kits.