Pitching a starter while active (high krausen)...

[saeroner]

Can someone explain Palmer's 2nd paragraph?

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-6.html

I hear a lot of people saying pitching while active is best....

If the starter wort comp is at 1.040 and the main wort is 1.063 is this a problem or no?

Thanks

 

[dfhar]

No, the gravity mismatch shouldn't be a problem as long as your starter has plenty of maltose in it.

I like to build my starters a couple days in advance with DME at an OG of 1.040. I cold crash the starter a night or two before brewday. After I've cooled my wort to pitching temps and filled my fermenter, I decant the liquid off the top of my yeast starter and replace it with 1 to 2 liters of fresh wort taken from the fermenter (I use the spigot on the bottom of my Speidel). I put the starter back on the stir plate with the fresh wort for 2 to 4 hours, by which time I usually have a vigorous fermentation going on. I then pitch the whole active starter into the fermenter.

 

[Cyclman]

+1 I only pitch at high kraeusen the couple of times I've had fermentation problems. Once was to finish a very high gravity beer, don't think it worked. Still waiting.

 

[saeroner]

+1 I only pitch at high kraeusen the couple of times I've had fermentation problems. Once was to finish a very high gravity beer, don't think it worked. Still waiting.

I'm confused. So you had fermentation problems when you pitched at high kraeusen?

maybe i'm reading it wrong.

 

[Yesfan]

The last two starters I made, I made them about 4 days before brew day. The ESB I brewed, I went an extra day or to so the krausen in the starter would drop. That thing took off like a rocket.


The last batch I made took off fast too, but not like the ESB. That starter sat in the fridge for about a week because I starterd making the starter a day or two earlier and my Brew Day got delayed a couple of days later. Will a starter sitting in the fridge that long hurt it?

If that ever happened again, should I leave the foam stopper in the flask, or cover it with sanitized foil? Sorry OP if this is off topic.

 

[fantomlord]

I'm confused. So you had fermentation problems when you pitched at high kraeusen?

maybe i'm reading it wrong.

I think he means he had fermentation problems (stuck), so he tried making a starter, and pitching it when it was at high krausen. The yeast is really active then, and can sometimes help finish off a ferment that's stuck/stalled/slow

 

[m00ps]

I dont like pitching my yeast at high krausen because you have to pitch the entire starter volume. I like to be able to decant my starters. I dont need a full 2000ml of oxygenated, warm fermented wort going into my beer

 

[fantomlord]

I dont like pitching my yeast at high krausen because you have to pitch the entire starter volume. I like to be able to decant my starters. I dont need a full 2000ml of oxygenated, warm fermented wort going into my beer

when I've done this, I didn't make my starter as normal with shaking/stirring, but let it sit at fermentation temperature, and added the whole thing once it hit high krausen. This way, you get the active yeast without all the off flavors. I also made a smaller volume since I was looking to finish out a ferment that stopped a bit short of target FG, not ferment a whole batch of wort at OG.