I made a starter using Omega tropical ipa and had it in the stir plate for about 48 hrs and let it sit at room temp at like 70 degrees. Before I pitched it I noticed that it had a sour skunk smell and I This is my first time using Brett yeast strain so I was frieking out I did something wrong with the starter. Is that a normal smell for Brett yeast? Thanks cheers
First and foremost, this isn't Brettanomyces: http://www.omegayeast.com/portfolio/tropical-ipa/ Secondly, although aeration will allow your yeast to grow more quickly, it can also lead to off-flavors and aromas. If you're concerned about them making it into your main beer, simply decant the starter before pitching. If you're concerned about contamination, decant and give your starter some fresh wort, but this time, put an airlock on it. If you don't notice a different character, I'd pitch it and start over because anaerobically grown starters should smell estery, not like "sour skunk".
Thanks for the comment. So I didn’t know about decanting prior so I pitched the yeast. Will this have a huge negative impact on the beer itself?
Just keep the stirplate on until you see visible signs of fermentation, then take it off the stirplate and put an airlock on it. Oxygen is only beneficial during the growth/logarithmic phase of the yeast life cycle, for Saccharomyces, at least.
