Liquid Yeast

Dec 21, 2004 5 Replies

My first time using liquid yeast, so far, Im worried. I popped the packet saturday night, tonight it looked like it was gonna burst open, so I did a starter. So far, about 6 hours in, no signs of action. Im afraid I may have shocked the yeast. Is it possible its slow? Im hearing 12 hours time to be ready to pitch, but Im not seeing anything yet, would think I would have. Maybe all will be well when I wake up...


You're worrying WAY too soon! How did you aerate the wort? Remember, yeast need a lot of O2 in order to synthesize sterols to build cell walls for reproduction. How far ahead did you make your starter? Why do you think you shocked the yeast?

--------->Denny

I aerated the wort basically by shaking the hell out of it. I was worried that there may have been too much temperature difference between the yeast and the wort. As of right now, theres more stuff floating on the top of my starter wort, and the airlock is pushed up (with a little condensation in it). Thinking maybe it took off while I was at work, I was (am) expecting to see the airlock get goin like when I have a 5 gallon batch brewing. I was planning on brewing tonight, figured the starter would take 24 hours at the most, which is right around right now.

Think I should let it go another day?

As I walked away from my last post, my airlock started to slowly (and consistently) bubble! Woo! Think I just may brew tonight!

See, you worry WAY TOO MUCH!!! Relax. Liquid yeasts often take a long time to get started. If you want more consistent results and faster starts, try using dry yeast next time if your beer does not demand a specific type of yeast. If you need to use liquid yeast, make a yeast starter to ensure there are zillions of yeast cells ready to get to work soon after you pitch.

I was just worrying becuase I had never used liquid before and just decided to experiment with it. Doing an IPA recipe of my own creation so I have something to compare the results with, and then Im going to repitch it into an imperial stout.

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required