[krsna7]

I have been brewing ales for a little while and decided to get my feet wet with a lager. i bought wyeast 2633 oktoberfest and am planning on brewing an oktoberfest/marzen.. OG around 1.054 and 5 gallon batch. i pitched the yeast to a 2L starter two days ago with minimal activity that i can see, ive been trying to take a decent hydrometer reading but the wort foams in my tube quite a bit and i cannot get a good enough reading (is this common?).. i want to brew on sunday (4 days from now) but i want to be sure i have enough yeast built up for this lager (390m cells thereabouts). i have not cold crashed this first starter but i want to step it up another 2 liters before sunday.. can i just add 2 more liters of wort to existing starter and then hopefully cold crash on friday and the starter be ready to decant and use on sunday? i know general rule with lagers is to not rush them and let them work at their own pace.. starter is at room temp now.. my last question is this lager seems really slow, even at room temp, i guess a lager yeast usually dont show too much activity, is this common for this type of yeast? there is no krausen to speak of unless i count the way the starter foams up when shaken, almost like the head on a beer, then quickly dissapates. thanks for all your responses in advance.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

I have been brewing ales for a little while and decided to get my feet wet with a lager. i bought wyeast 2633 oktoberfest and am planning on brewing an oktoberfest/marzen.. OG around 1.054 and 5 gallon batch. i pitched the yeast to a 2L starter two days ago with minimal activity that i can see, ive been trying to take a decent hydrometer reading but the wort foams in my tube quite a bit and i cannot get a good enough reading (is this common?).. i want to brew on sunday (4 days from now) but i want to be sure i have enough yeast built up for this lager (390m cells thereabouts). i have not cold crashed this first starter but i want to step it up another 2 liters before sunday.. can i just add 2 more liters of wort to existing starter and then hopefully cold crash on friday and the starter be ready to decant and use on sunday? i know general rule with lagers is to not rush them and let them work at their own pace.. starter is at room temp now.. my last question is this lager seems really slow, even at room temp, i guess a lager yeast usually dont show too much activity, is this common for this type of yeast? there is no krausen to speak of unless i count the way the starter foams up when shaken, almost like the head on a beer, then quickly dissapates. thanks for all your responses in advance.

might be little to no krausen per say (on a stir plate or not?). has wort changed color at all? i'd guess after this long you've made beer and grown yeast.

crash decant and step up...plenty of time.

[erockrph]

My starters of 2633 often take 48+ hours to show signs of activity. Sometimes it doesn't even get much of a krausen, so it's hard to tell what's going on. I usually give it 5 days or so just to be sure. I've never stepped it up a second time, so I'm not sure if the second step goes more quickly.

[krsna7]

it is not on a stir plate.. i make my starters in a 3 gallon glass vessel.. it is in a dark closet at room temp 70F.  there is a grayish/white layer of yeast on bottom of vessel, that settles fairly quickly after shaken.. there is a decent amount of residual CO2 in solution because i get alot of foam when i shake the starter, and it looks like champagne bubbles in my hydrometer tube.. i finally got a decent reading from my hydrometer, it looks to be around 1.016,  i didnt get an OG reading but im guessing in the 1.035 range (i used 200 grams of light pilsner DME / 2 liters of water).  my main concern is the lack of physical activity that i can see as opposed to my ale yeasts which put on a show.. my first lager and i want to be sure i have good numbers going into this deal.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

it is not on a stir plate.. i make my starters in a 3 gallon glass vessel.. it is in a dark closet at room temp 70F.  there is a grayish/white layer of yeast on bottom of vessel, that settles fairly quickly after shaken.. there is a decent amount of residual CO2 in solution because i get alot of foam when i shake the starter, and it looks like champagne bubbles in my hydrometer tube.. i finally got a decent reading from my hydrometer, it looks to be around 1.016,  i didnt get an OG reading but im guessing in the 1.035 range (i used 200 grams of light pilsner DME / 2 liters of water).  my main concern is the lack of physical activity that i can see as opposed to my ale yeasts which put on a show.. my first lager and i want to be sure i have good numbers going into this deal.

so IMO you are fine to crash and decant and then step up. should be fine for weekend plans.

[krsna7]

thanks alot for all your replies guys, i really appreciate the info..
HAPPY BREWING!