Starter: can I delay it's use?

#1 (first idea)

 

Just decant it and move along. Youre basically just stepping the yeast up like if you harvested some. Your beer will probably be better this way, just try to do or do another starter within 2 weeks and keep it in the fridge until then.

I stepped up some Conan from a can of heady topper this way. I ended up with several ounces 3 or 4 starters later. Be careful to sanitize everything. I always stored it in a sealed ball jar in the fridge.

 

Leave it in the flask. On brewday, let it warm up, decant and use some of your fresh wort(boiled/chilled) to replace the liquid. It will reactivate your yeast and really get them going.

 

I wouldn't go as far as transferring it to another vessel. I had a 2 month PAST expiration date vial of White Labs WLP400 Belgian Wit yeast that I made into a 1000ml starter I wasn't able to use right away. Long story short, it remained in the flask 10-12 days in my fridge before I was able to brew & pitch the yeast. I simply decanted the starter, added cooled "pre-boiled" water, swirled and pitched. At 70 degrees fermentation temperature, I had very active fermentation action through my blow-off tube for the first 10 days. This beer is still in primary (tomorrow will be 2 weeks), and I have no doubt this beer will turn out fine. I have heard that this particular strain needs TIME in the primary to reach its' full potential, so thats' where it will remain for the next 3 weeks.

 

I'd skip the last part. Just refrigerate when it's done, then decant on brewday.

 

Timely question. I was wondering the same thing