Yeast starte-bumed/ruined?

FWIW, I always add 300mL more water than what my target volume is supposed to be for my starter. I've found this is my boil off for 15 min in the small sauce pan I use to make my starters.

 

Assuming the flask (which you sanitized before adding the wort and yeast) has been continuously covered with sanitized foil (except for a few seconds while you decanted), I don't think there's much risk of contamination. Bacteria don't crawl.

 

But don't forget that you also add some volume when you add the DME.

 

I did a 2L yeast starter last night for a Wit I'm doing this weekend. I used 7 OZ of DME and WhiteLabs WLP400. I put it on the stir plate last night and let it do its thing. This morning I had a bit of a mess on my hand, it oozed out and down the flask and some got onto the stir plate.

Not something I wanted to clean up at 5 AM. Any reason why I'd get such a reaction? Should I use less DME next time?

 

How big is the flask? In my experience, starters above about 1.3 quarts in a 2L flask are often asking for some blowoff. IOW, I need more relative headspace in starters than in a fermenter.

 

It's a 2L flask, I'm not exactly sure how much it holds in totality. Maybe I'll do 1.5 L going forward.

 

Get a foam stopper. Just ran a starter for 48hrs.

 

I've had the same issue, but resolved it by slowing down the stirring speed. If I see a lot of foam, I turn the speed down, when it drops, I speed it up. In other words, you can control it by the speed of the stirring rod. I usually slow it down the first night while I sleep and adjust it in the morning.

 

If you use a couple drops of defoamer, the starter doesn't foam and certainly won't volcano.

 

I do have a foam stopper, it over powered it! BTW, this is my forth or fifth starter and the first time this has happened.

 

I have defoamer, will use it next time.

 

The only issue is I made it last night and would not be able to monitor overnight.

 

As I mentioned, it helps to keep it slow the first night, and adjust it in the morning. As Brew_Betty mentioned, you can also/or add a couple of drops of defoamer like Fermcap.

 

I prefer to use a veggie based defoamer. It works just as well as the silicone based defoamer.

http://www.homebrewing.org/Foam-Control_p_1773.html