Should I pitch this starter?

[amh0001]

Hello all,

Today is brew day! I'm brewing Summer Citrus Wheat:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/summer-citrus-wheat-67952/

Two days ago I made a yeast starter from the 1010 American wheat Wyeast.
It was a 1L starter with 3oz of DME. I injected Oxygen for 20 seconds. chilled to about 80 and pitched.

First thing I notice is the smack pack did not seem to swell at all for the hour + it sat while I was making the starter. A few hours after I pitched, I noticed some small bubbles rising to the top. The next day nothing. No bubbles, no krausen, no ring from a krausen. Today is day two its been 36 hours. Nothing.

So, Should I risk pitching this starter or going with some Dry Notty I have in the fridge.

Thanks!
~Amh

 

[Mischief_Brewing]

As long as sanitary procedures were followed during the making and storing of the starter, it shouldn't be a problem pitching it.. If you're in a hurry, you can pitch the dry along with the starter just in case the 1010 isn't viable.

 

[amh0001]

but how common is it for a starter to show such a lack of activity?

 

[Revvy]

From the horse's mouth.

From the Wyeast FAQ website:

3. Does the package need to be fully swollen before pitching?

No, The package can be pitched before activating, or at anytime during the activation process. The activation process "jump starts" the culture's metabolism, minimizing the lag phase.

Just like in the fermenter, fermentation isn't always dynamic...It doesn't matter one blip in your fermenter or your starter flask if the airlock bubbles or not (if you are using an airlock and not tinfoil,) or if you see a krauzen.In fact starter fermentation are some of the fastest or slowest but most importantly, the most boring fermentations out there. Usually it's done withing a few hours of yeast pitch...usually overnight when we are sleeping, and the starter looks like nothing ever happened...except for the little band at the bottom. Or it can take awhile...but either way there's often no "activity" whatsoever....


All that really matters is that creamy band o yeast at the bottom.

 

[amh0001]

Thanks for the replies guys! I actually went ahead and brewed my other ingredients for BM's CBlonde.

Which brings me to my next question, how should i store my starter till next week when I can brew the citrus wheat? will it be fine in the fridge?

Oh and yes its covered in tin foil.

Cheers!

 

[Newbeerguy]

Yep, put it in the fridge. It will be fine.

 

[dvdfnzwbr]

If your liquid yeast from the manufacture is close to the expiration date it will start slower than a fresh pack. I stored a wyeast pack in the fridge for close to 10 months after purchase. After smacking, it took 4 days to start swelling, and show sings of life.

I once had a Whitlabs that I bought thru mail order. They sent a vile close to the expiration date. I didn't make a starter but I did streak a sample onto a streak plate. I pitched the vile into the fermentor. After 48 hours it built its army but didn't make any co2 for the air lock and the wort ran clear. I thought the yeast was bad so I threw in some dry yeast that was laying around and it took off like a raped ape. After inspecting the agar plate sample 5 days later, to my amazement the yeast started to grow. And taking from the sample has worked for me on all future brews. Sometimes liquid yeasts need time.