Okay, I did a really dumb thing in my rush to get a starter going with Propper. I needed a 36 ounce starter and instead of following the directions and just going on memory (second dumb thing i did), I used two cans of Propper instead of one can diluted with 18oz of water. The starter I created has been sitting on a stir plate for about 15 hours. I’m thinking I could just dilute the starter with another 36oz of water and be fine with it. Maybe let it run a little longer before stopping and chilling. Yes I know I’ll have way more yeast than I would need. I hink it is too early for the yeast to produce byproducts that I don’t want with it only being 15 hours. FWIW, the yeast is Wyeast 1450. The temp range is 60-70f and I have it sitting at 68f.
At 1.080, you are at a high gravity, for sure but given the volume, I’d suggest simply riding it out or brew soon and pitch the starter at high Krausen.
If it were me, I wouldn’t use that starter. You pitched those yeast into a high-gravity, low/no-oxygen wort. They have been subjected to a high level of osmotic stress with very little oxygen to help them fortify their membranes. And contrary to popular belief, stir plates don’t add all that much oxygen to the wort. Any yeast cells that stay alive will be very stressed.
I think maybe what I’d try is to take a bit of that starter and make another one with it at a lower gravity. Maybe even as low as 1.020 to give the yeast a fighting chance.
Agreed that it is worth a shot - given the small volume, just maybe the starter will be less stressed than one might think. If stressed already, the yeast may be in no shape to recover, but yeast are remarkable fungi, so you won’t know until you try. Perhaps a just make a small low OG batch with it.
Thanks. I went ahead with Denny’s suggestion. I’ll report in a week or two and let you know how it went. And I’ll bring it to my club next week and get some other tasting opinions.
^This point cannot be overstated. Historical traditions are great and all that, but if they make a beer that you don’t want to drink, what good are they? Nothing noble about an undrinkable beer.
Historical traditions aren’t all they are cracked up to be. Case in point: A historical “tradition” of medical practice was to saw off an infected limb without anesthesia or painkillers. No thanks. I prefer modernity, including with my beers and brewing process. (Sorry to go dark here, folks, just trying to make a point.)