[IMperry9]

Hey everybody just have a few questions about the yeast starter I made yesterday. I made my first yeast starter yesterday using WLP568 for saison I plan on doing today. I had to make the starter with all grain which I found many helpful videos on and it was very easy. I cooled the wort to about 73F and pitched the yeast and shook the hell out of it every hour for the first 4 hours to keep the yeast suspended. There was no sediment from the all grains when I put it in my container and now there is thick layer at the bottom and I am wondering if it is all yeast. I can't really tell if the starter worked but it does look like some yeast is suspended. Here is a picture if it works. C:\Users\Ian\Desktop\Brewing Folder\Yeaststarter1.jpg
So my question is did my yeast starter work and if so is that all yeast at the bottom.

[IMperry9]

This link should work for the picture https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K-HehBJKHqsKuwYHXLNnOOTfIB0iXgTvd-EXAJL_k38/edit?usp=sharing

[yso191]

Looks like yeast to me.

[reverseapachemaster]

From the color it's not apparent to me whether that is yeast or grain trub or a combination of both. Sedimented yeast will have a creamy off white color while settled grain mass tends to be more brown. If you see swirls or layers of both colors then you have some yeast in there.

Did you see a krausen form? Is there a krausen ring above the wort? That would be a good indication you had fermentation take place.

[braufessor]

There is not head space at the top of that starter...... you don't have a secure top on it do you?  Just wondering if you have active fermentation going on in a closed vessel.  That would be bad.

[IMperry9]

there is some head space at the top and it is not closed off it has tinfoil covering it with holes. There is tiny bubbles forming within that layer of sediment and it looks more like yeast to me based off comparing to yeast in a White labs vial. There is a slight ring at the top of the container but it is hard for me to tell if it is significant or not. Would the level of liquid in the container rise if there is yeast growth? it appears to be higher than when I pitched the yeast yesterday. Also just a follow up question should I decant most of the liquid off the yeast and then pitch or just pitch the whole thing?

[braufessor]

Yes - if that yeast starts to actively ferment it will produce a "white foam" of sorts on top.  If it really gets going, and there is not  much head space, it will go over the top and flow down the side.  Generally, I like to have 50% of the space in a container taken up with wort/starter and 50% open for head space and to allow for active krausen.

I would just be watching it in case that fermentation gets more active.  It does not appear that you have enough head space to accommodate it if it gets rolling.

[IMperry9]

Well it has been almost 12 hours since I pitched the yeast it is quite possible that the most active part has already happened correct? I will probably pitch it about 14 hours after making the yeast starter. Should I refrigerate to separate yeast and liquid then decant and pitch yeast??

[braufessor]

 In my opinion, refrigerating for 2 hours is not near enough time to really drop anything out.  I think you would lose a lot of yeast if you tried a 2 hour cold crash and then tried decanting it.  Plus, pitching an actively fermenting starter is better than cold crashing it  and trying to separate it out in my opinion. 

How big is the starter for size?

Generally if I am making a "normal" strength ale I find an actively fermenting 1L starter does a great job.  I am usually pitching this into 1.040-1.055 type wort about 18-24 hours after making the starter.

Lagers, old yeast, high gravity...... all of those types of things may call for different approaches however.

[IMperry9]

well I did a 1L starter and the OG for my beer is expected to be 1.057. I was going to do a 2L but couldn't find the container I was looking for last night so just decided 1L would be fine.

[braufessor]

It is kind of hard to tell from the picture, but if there is active fermentation going on it your starter, I would say you should be just fine dumping the whole thing in.

[IMperry9]

Alright awesome thank you for all the help.

[IMperry9]

Update: I just started the boil probably 5 minutes ago and then checked my starter. Definitely highly active now krausen around the top and yeast in suspension. Guess I was worrying for nothing and just needed more time. Can't wait to pitch and taste this beer! Prost!