Concerned about yeast starter

In the picture, it looks like there's a lot of yeast on/near the bottom, and I can see a residual krausen ring. So I'm guessing it's finished. The krausen probably rose and fell while you were asleep. (And with a stir plate, sometimes it gets sucked back in as quickly as it forms.)

 

I cold crash my starters in the fridge and decant most of the spent wort. That way the amount of non-recipe stuff that makes it into the finished beer is minimized.

 

To expand on Vikeman's comments; after 44 hours it is most definitely finished. I've found different strains behave differently* on the stir plate. Some have krausen that can't be beaten down while some have no krausen at all because the stir plate drives off the CO2 as quickly as it's made. To check the progress, try cutting off the stir plate somewhere from 4 to 8 hours into the process and let it sit for at least half an hour. There should be evidence of krausen forming (with no whirling) and when you give it a hard shake there should be noticeable CO2 off-gassing (thicker krausen). I've found that all ale yeast gives a pleasant aroma (hay/grass/olive-oil) when it's active on the plate. Even neutral 1056 has a pleasant aroma . . . so use your sniffer to get feedback. Take a good whiff of the wort only (before) and the yeast after it's started (after) . . . I've never had this test fail.

In addition to boosting the health of the yeast, you are looking for more quantity . . . this can be measured in the flask. Place some masking tape near the bottom and with the flask empty add 75ml of water and make a mark, then 100ml, then 125ml. This is crude but effective. If you're pitching White Labs Purepitch expect 40 - 50 ml of yeast solids from the packet. Your po-man's gauge will tell you how much the stir plate has added (after cold-crashing).

*If the yeast suspect you post on BA they tend to be more mischievous . . .

 

For sure. A previous starter was WY1318, had a little bit of krausen. Last starter had a “Conan” strain starter blow out the Erlenmeyer flask.

To boot the 1318 fermented warmer. •A fermometer strip on the flask is a great tool to help make notes on the process

 

Fermcap-S is very useful for preventing this from happeing. I always use it when making a starter: I just add a drop to the starter wort before I boil. Cheers!

 

Never thought to consider that. I’ve heard of that product. Just never pulled the trigger on it.

 

I'll second @utahbeerdude. I use it for starters and fermentation with beers that are notorious for krausen -- belgians, hefes, etc. -- and I've never had a blow out when I used Fermcap.