Heady Topper Starter tastes and smells terrible

[skokott]

I am trying to make a Heady Topper starter yeast.

My procedure is as follows.

Take dregs from 2 cans and pour into flask
-add 250ML of 1.020 wort with yeast nutrient (1/2 tespoon)
-next day add 500ML of 1.030 wort with yeast nutrient (1/2 teaspoon)
-wait 2 days add 1L of 1.040 wort with yeast nutrient (1/2 teaspoon).

Shake flask multiple times per day.

My sanitation was good. I am leaving the flask out in the kitchen with airlock. Temp is about 70-72F.

Yeast cake is developing and strong fruity esters are developing.

However along with the strong peach aroma I'm getting this rubbery / chemically taste and smell.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? HBS guy says to decant and add more wort to give yeast time to acclimatize and I'm trying that but I'm not sure why I would have such a strong off flavor coming through.

I washed with PBW and sanitized with StarSan and made sure wort is cooled before adding to flask.

Any help would be highly appreciated because I don't have much Heady left.

 

[brewmeister13]

Not sure if this is related to your problem, but you should remove the airlock from your flask and cover it with sanitized foil. You want oxygen to be able to constantly be available to the yeast and not stress them out.

I also noticed you are using 1/2 teaspoon yeast nutrient for each step. This seems like a lot to me. I usually use .5 g for a 1L starter.

 

[duboman]

The rubber could be from the bung and the chemical could be co2?

Yes, remove the airlock completely and simply place a loose piece of san used foil over the opening. The yeast need the o2 in order to multiply.

 

[skokott]

Thank you I'll follow your recomendations. I have not used fail. But if I wrap the top with foil how is air going to get in? Did you mean just have it lightly covered, or wrap that sucker tight and air will still get in?

thx.

 

[brewmeister13]

I wrap mine around. It doesn't seal it completely up and still allows air to move in (and yeast to move out when the krausen gets too big).

 

[duboman]

Thank you I'll follow your recomendations. I have not used fail. But if I wrap the top with foil how is air going to get in? Did you mean just have it lightly covered, or wrap that sucker tight and air will still get in? thx.

I just lay a piece over the top and gently fold the edges over like a loose cap, no rubber band or anything.

Remember that co2 is pushing out so nothing really gets in

 

[bierhaus15]

It may just be the yeast. I've noticed the yeast harvested from recent heady cans has been behaving weirdly... producing large amounts of diacetyl and phenolic flavors. This has not been the case with the heady cans I cultured back in the spring. This new yeast is also strangely flocculant for supposedly being "conan."

 

[edin88]

I had a similar problem. I would describe the smell/taste as latex gloves.

i made a 1 gallon batch of pale ale with the dregs of a can of Heady. I have a few bottles of it in the fridge. i tasted one 3 weeks since I bottled it and the taste was still there but it subsides after a few sips. im gonna try one again tonight.

 

[skokott]

YES! exactly. Latex gloves is the perfect description.

It's strange.

 

[brewmeister13]

Remember that co2 is pushing out so nothing really gets in

Not to highjack the threat, but if that were true wouldn't it be the same as having an airlock on the flask?

 

[Shred]

Not to highjack the threat, but if that were true wouldn't it be the same as having an airlock on the flask?

That has always been my thought too.

 

[skokott]

Actually yeah. Good point

 

[duboman]

Not to highjack the threat, but if that were true wouldn't it be the same as having an airlock on the flask?

No because the airlock prevents the o2 from getting in every time you shake or use a stir plate

 

[skokott]

"No because the airlock prevents the o2 from getting in every time you shake or use a stir plate"

Awesome, thanks.

 

[tgmartin000]

I stepped up some conan a few weeks ago and it's just about done in the primary ferment0r.

I did a 3 step starter, giving each step about 2 days to ferment and 2 days to cold crash before decanting for the next step. I was worried because the starters all smelled terrible. I'd agree with the latex gloves smell. So far, the samples I've pulled from the fermentor all tasted great. And the fermentation was super vigorous - tons of blow off. Be prepared with a good blow-off system.

 

[skokott]

Thank God. You've made my weekend good buddy.

What's strange is the first time I did this there was a tonne of peach smell. Just overwhelming and an overwhelming latex glove smell. When I tasted it there was zero carbonation and alcohol.

I threw that out thinking it bad and used 2 more cans. This time the peach smell is almost non-existant but there is no latex glove smell. This time tasting it there is a little carbonation and plenty of alcohol (Well plenty for 1.040 wort).

The only thing I did differently this time was use less yeast nutrient.