Starter started too early?

[timbowden]

Yesterday (Sunday) I started one of my white labs starters that I had split from a white labs vial a few weeks ago (been in the fridge since). It is gently (not madly) bubbling away. I had planned on a brew day tomorrow (Tuesday) but I may have to postpone to Thursday . Seeing as my starter is "under way" will it be ok to use it on Thursday or will it have worn itself out by then? Should I halt it by cooling it in the fridge then warming up Gain on Wednesday?
Tim

 

[dennisking]

Sunday to Thursdays sounds OK to me. I would normally give it that sort of time anyway, moving it somewhere cooler for the last day or so to help it settle.

 

[timbowden]

Why would I need it to settle before adding to my wort? I thought I'd need to swirl it into suspension , at the same temp, to get the fermentation going?

 

[MacKiwi]

Two ways to do it I guess...

1. Swirl into suspension, as you say, and dump the whole lot in
2. Cool so that the yeast drops out of suspension. Decant off the clear beer from the top. Let warm up to room(ish) temperature. Tip the remaining sludgy yeast at the bottom into your brew.

I've done both, depending on circumstance. If I've planned ahead I'll do 2. If I started the starter too late, it's 1. Both work. I think there's a suspicion that you might introduce some off flavours with 1, as you're adding all the spent wort, that might not taste as good as regular beer (it's been fermented warmer, it's been aerated, etc). In my limited experience, I've not noted this.

To answer your original question, I don't think it does the starter any harm to sit around for a few days or a week once finished (in a fridge obviously).

 

[dennisking]

I have always taken a litre of wort 15 mins into the boil, crash cooled, then poured off the spent extract from the yeast and added the fresh wort. By the time it comes round to pitching the yeast is chomping at the bit to get going.

 

[timbowden]

That sounds more like it! I may give it a go alongside my prepared starter. I prefer not having to plan things in advance!