Yeast starter - no life?

[Fritzpoll85]

I've been getting set up to do another Festbier this evening. Had a pack of liquid Wyeast Munich lager so decided to make a starter. While making it, noticed the manufacturing date on it was May 2020. Not sure how that's happened, but it is well over the 6 month recommended usage, even if it has been in my fridge the whole time.

8 hours on, the starter looks like below. Doesn't look much different to when I pitched it. Is it basically dead? I'm still at the point where I could swap to a blue moon clone if I needed to, but had been hoping to get a fest going while I head off on a work trip next week

Thoughts welcome!

 

[foxbat]

Wyeast (annoyingly) switched to best-before dates on their packs a year or two ago. Are you sure yours had a manufacturing date on it and not a best-before?

Anyway, assuming it was made in mid-May the calculator I use recommends a 1 litre starter followed by a 1.5 litre second stage for 23 litres of 1.045 lager.

I did once have a somewhat old lager yeast (OYL-114) that took 24 hours to get going on the stir plate.

 

[Fritzpoll85]

It's only my second time using the stir plate, so I'm never two sure what to expect. Came back from the school run, and I think I can now see some 'bits' in the liquid, which are presumably yeast

Will give it a couple of hours and see- maybe it just needed more time to get going. I could possibly get the wort into the FV tonight, but hold off pitching until tomorrow to give it more time/a second starter

 

[samale]

Normally I would make a starter at least two days before I need it. So it can ferment out, if really pushed for time I would pitch the full starter

 

[Fritzpoll85]

So a friend of mine gave me some crop topped 2308 and I added it to the starter. 24 hours on, all the malt smell had gone, replaced by the usual yeast aroma.

Have pitched it at 20C. Will wait for bubbling before dropping the temp. Fingers crossed- but next time will check the dates!