Yeast starter

[Adamkav]

Hi team! So I made me first yeast starter .. OG 1.042 using white labs Bavarian wiezen. I'm doing the shake not stir method and after a few hours I notice a metallic smell, from what I'm fairly certain is from aeration during fermentation(Which is the point I hope) so my question is will these off flavours/smells be taken care in the main fermentation or do I have to decant? And if it's the latter I might be screwed as it's a weizen yeast

 

[RPh_Guy]

I intentionally underpitch weizen yeast (I use WLP300) because it increases the flavor and therefore I would probably never make a starter for it.

Opinions go both ways about decanting the starter. Personally I do not crash or decant because I make vitality starters (500mL x 4 hours on a plate for 5 gal).

 

[Adamkav]

Opinions definitely go both ways, I'm sure they both work fine.. but I'm wondering since I'm shaking the crap out of my starter resulting in aerated(metallic smelling) wort as opposed to making a starter and letting it sit still.. if the off flavours will continue on in my beer, or will they dissappear?

 

[Nagorg]

Starter wort is nasty but your beer wont be. I personally prefer to decant most of it, leaving enough to swirl into a nice slurry before pitching.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Aeration of the starter is beneficial and helps make more yeast. That's why so many of us have stir plates to continuously aerate.

If you don't decant, you definitely are putting more oxidized beer in your wort. I've never seen anyone say that they can taste it, so maybe it's just a theoretical risk (?). I don't think I taste anything bad from the 500mL starters that I add, but they're less oxidized than traditional starters.

There are lots of threads about this on HBT.

 

[Jako]

i figure the yeast have more cells than my brain. someone has to get it right.

I have never had starter off flavors so i just stopped thinking about it. i shake it a bit every now and then dump it all in.

 

[Adamkav]

Okay awesome thanks so much for your input!!

 

[balrog]

The proof will be when the starter is finished (a day or so) and you taste it.

You do taste it, don't you?

Definitely taste it. It should be yeasty, oxidized (maybe wet cardboard, maybe sherry flavor), but beer.

If it smells like the rotten underside of a yak that's lain on the tundra 6 weeks in summer, I suggest not using it.

Or tasting it.

 

[RPh_Guy]

+1
Only use if it tastes like fresh yak meat.