Chunky Starter

[Brancid]

So, I'm making my first starter for todays brew...big ass Baltic Porter... Well, I started the starter last night per the pope's website. After about 1 or 2 hours I noticed that my stir plate was getting pretty warm so since then I've just been turnning on the plate ever now and then to keep it "shook up".

Well, here it is about 20+ hours later and I'm going to pitch soon and the starter has turned all chunky.

I'm not sure if this is right or not...any thoughts?

I think that it may be just clumping up and falling out since it's been 20+ hrs and when I pitch it'll be fine. And if it doesn't I'l just pitch another starter and go again.

I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this or if anyone could tell me if it's normal or not.

Thanks for the help,

--Brancid

[bub]

I'm going with you are fine... pitch that bitch!
BUB

[GooberMcNutly]

You are just seeing the yeast flocculate. Pitch that bad mofo!

[Brancid]

Hells Yea!!!!

4 hours the bad boy was going strong...and we got the question to Birthday Doc and ...I forget his name...the guy from White Labs. They said that it's just the yeast strain, WL002 English Ale. It's bubbling luike mad, in fact it's the first beer i had to switch to a blow off tube with.

I've got to figure out how to keep my stir plate from transfering so much heat to my starters. I'll post it on the equipment forum.

Thanks for all the help,

--Brancid & Brewgirl

[skipper]

I've got to figure out how to keep my stir plate from transfering so much heat to my starters. I'll post it on the equipment forum.

Just heard the other yeasty boy (Dave Logsdon from Wyeast) suggest a piece of styrofoam between the bottom of your flask and the stir plate as an insulator.

[Brancid]

Right on, that's what I was thinking. Something w/ very a low conductance. I was thinking of something like that pink insulation board w/ the foil on one side. Or what ever else I may be able to robe from the university

[rich]

My 1960's model stir plate with it's all AC circuitry gets hot too. If I left it alone my starters would be about 110F.

What I did is make two small shims, about 1/4"x1/4"x2" and glued them to my stir plate for the flask to sit on top of. I have a small fan that blows through the channell to disapate the heat. I experimented with different shim thickness' to get the flask as high off the stir plate as possible without losing the stir bar.

It's ghetto as hell, but works great.

[Speyedr]

I put mine in a large-ish aluminum broiling pan on the stirer and add ice as needed.