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View Full Version : Is this what's supposed to happen???


ray m
02-27-2004, 02:56 PM
Paranoia is striking again.....I made a yeast starter (using yeast I harvested about 2 1/2 weeks ago) a couple days ago to make sure the yeast was OK. I made a 1 quart starter with 1 cup DME, then pitched the harvested yeast slurry, which filled about 1/3 of a mason jar (1 qt. size I think).

Airlock started bubbling within 20 minutes. By the evening, I could not believe the amount of krausen from this starter----It was light tan in color, nice & thick (like what it's supposed to look like on top of a 5 gallon batch), and at times was at least 6 to 7 inches thick. Over the 2 day period before I brewed today, I swirled the starter around a bit when the krausen subsided to @ 2 inches thick. After a couple hours, the krausen was damn near filling up the starter vessel (1 gallon glass jug). Smelled the starter a couple times and it smelled like what a starter is supposed to smell like.

This is the first time I have ever used harvested yeast. Is the krausen supposed to be that robust?? Everything looked and smelled like it was supposed to. I can only imagine what this yeast is going to do in my 5 gallon batch (after pitching into the wort, airlock was already bubbling a bit after 30 minutes). Someone please put my mind at ease!! Yeast by the way is White Labs London Ale WLP013.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Stodbrew
02-27-2004, 03:19 PM
Everything sounds as it should. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Its always a good thing to have a short lag time, and have a nice, vigorous fermentation. Nicely done!

ray m
02-27-2004, 03:46 PM
Thanks S'brew......pitched 3 hours ago, and airlock bubbles every 6 sec's. I wonder if I'll need a blow off:cool:

Fast_Eddy
02-27-2004, 04:18 PM
This is what you see when you pitch a good size slurry. Pure, concentrated fermenting power.

Tweek
02-27-2004, 04:23 PM
whenever I am in doubt about things like this I taste it. If there is a problem it can usually be detected this way.

SLOSHomebrewers
03-04-2004, 01:51 PM
Sounds like you have an ideal fermentation going!

ray m
03-04-2004, 08:06 PM
All has turned out well, friends. Primary was done in 3 days, dumped the trub and harvested yeast already (really got a lot of good yeast this time!!). OG was 1.048; FG was 1.012. Tastes awesome. Will bottle next Friday.

Life is so wonderful!!