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Cold yeast starter

Scott Ickes

Grandmaster Brewer
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I made a yeast starter (Wyeast 1056) for my Pumpkin Ale.  The yeast was on my "NEW" stir plate for about 36 hours and was at high Krausen when I started my mash.

To brew I need the garage door open so that I'm not asphyxiated.  I never gave the yeast a thought, but when I started feeling cold (it's in the mid 40's F. ranger here), I realized that my yeast might be getting cold.  It was down to 54F, so I moved it inside.

By the time I was ready to pitch the yeast, my yeast was back up to 60F.  I got my wort down to 65F with my immersion chiller and pitched the yeast.  I have a feeling it won't start as quickly as I would normally get with a yeast starter.

This is the first time I've brewed when it was this cold.  I had always brewed in the kitchen and didn't need to worry about ambient temperatures being this cold.

I'm sure it's ok.  I'm thinking that it has to be better than pitching too warm (80F), since pitching too warm might create some off flavors.

Has anyone ever had this issue with an ale yeast and pitched this cold before?  If you did, what issues if any did you have?
 
I typically pitch 1056 in the low 60's.  I always have a clean fermentation and solid apparent attenuation (80-84%).  I wouldn't worry about a "fast start."  It's more important to have a proper lag phase for yeast health. 
 
Scott Ickes said:
I'm sure it's ok. 

It is.

I regularly pitch yeast slurry that is at 45 to 55F degrees into wort that's 62 to 72F. Lag times of just 2 to 4 hours are common. I'm pitching at a rate equivalent to about a pint of slurry per 5 gallons.
 
I guess this proves that himebrewers tend to be worriers, even when things are going well.  I pitched the yeast at about 5 p.m. yesterday.  I was starting to bubble by about 9 p.m.  This morning it was going strong at a bubble every second through the airlock.

I'm happy, happy, happy!!
 
Yup, I'm happy!  It's chugging away.  I was out here in the garage reading my Sunday morning newspaper, (I have a cafe style table in my garage/brewery for hanging out) and I looked over at my fermentor and started saying "blub, blub, blub, blub' over and over.

My wife looked up from her section of the paper, lifted up her coffee cup and held it out as if toasting me and said, "Really simple things make you happy!"
 
Scott Ickes said:
My wife looked up from her section of the paper, lifted up her coffee cup and held it out as if toasting me and said, "Really simple things make you happy!

She has right, really simple things can make us men happy!
 
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