# Dead yeast.



## WineYooper (Feb 22, 2011)

Tried to get my next batch of cranberry going yesterday by making a starter with my yeast and found the yeast foamed slightly then stopped. Thought maybe this was just me and pitched it in the must anyhow. Not! No action this A.M. so tried it again at 6:00 A.M. and found this next packet to not foam or have any action in the warm water used for hydration. Jumped in my truck and drove the 30 miles to Midwest and got more yeast and now have a starter going well with a 1/4 cup of my must in it. Morale of the story here is that even though there is a (un-named) brew store closer to home it doesn't mean they will have viable yeast. The expiration date on both packages was 2/2012 so don't know where the problem came in.
I have never had a problem with any yeast I have bought from Midwest and the new stuff is showing me to stick with what has worked for me in the past. Has anyone else run into this?
Side note; brought a sample of last Aprils cranberry in for an opinion from a veteran at Midwest Supply and she liked very much. I am very happy with a neutral parties opinion as opposed to friends so I must be doing something right.


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## Flem (Feb 22, 2011)

You didn't say what the temperature of your must was. That could be a reason why your yeast didn't kick in. Sometimes it will take 24-48 hours to start active fermentation.


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## WineYooper (Feb 22, 2011)

The water I had started with was in the 105-109 range. When I added a 1/4 cup of the must to the starter cup they were 6 degrees apart. When I dumped the first starter in the primary the were both at 74F.


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## robie (Feb 22, 2011)

WineYooper said:


> The water I had started with was in the 105-109 range. When I added a 1/4 cup of the must to the starter cup they were 6 degrees apart. When I dumped the first starter in the primary the were both at 74F.



This is why I always do a yeast starter. I don't just pitch the yeast and I don't just re-hydrate the yeast in water. If the yeast is not good, I want to know before I add it to the must.


There are as many ways to make a yeast starter as there are wine makers.
Here's what I do:

I never add the yeast until the liquid (water and Go Ferm) temperature is 104F. Of course it drops a little when the yeast is added.

I leave the starter container in a pan of approx. 108F water to keep the temp up. I monitor the temperature of the starter constantly.

When I see what looks like little explosions in the starter, I stir it. I wait about 10 minutes more, then add 1 tblsp of re-hydrated, condensed grape juice, which has been brought up to the temperature of the starter.

Within about 10 minutes, if that does not cause some pretty nice foaming and bubbling, the yeast likely is not any good. Don't add it to the must unless you know it is good.

In about 10 minutes I add another tblsp of grape juice. After all this gets to bubbling and foaming well, I start adding must to the starter.

I will slowly add a tblsp of must, wait 10 minutes or so, add 2 tblsps, wait 10 minutes; then add 1/4 cup; wait 10 minutes and add another 1/4 cup.

If all this foams and bubbles nicely, I let its temperature fall until it is within about 4F of the must. At that point I stir it into the must. The must is usually fermenting actively within 8 hours or less.

If the temp of the must is about 75F, it is sometimes hard to get the temperature of the starter down that low, because the starter is generating its own heat and doesn't want to cool down much. I set the container of yeast starter in a pan of 70F water to help it very slowly cool to 75F.


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## WineYooper (Feb 22, 2011)

Thank you for your method. You definitely go further in your starter than I have to this point. In the past I have not have any trouble doing it the simple way I do but yours looks to be a much better method to assure you have an active starter before adding to primary. My regret at this point is that I added the first to the primary before I new for sure it was going good. Hope it doesn't cause me any issues. Your method is the most thorough I have seen outlined yet in my readings. All I've seen is to add to 105-109F water and then stir after 15 minutes, wait awhile then add small amounts of the must over measured time and after about 4 hours add to the primary. I had not seen the continuous temp criteria taken into account in all my readings except to make sure the starter was within 10F of the primary temp before adding. Again thank you. I will peruse this site more to see if there is anything close to yours on it. I think it would make for a good instructional sticky on here.


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## robie (Feb 22, 2011)

Nothing wrong with your method. I would not add the yeast if the temperature is above 104F, though.

As you already know, the main thing is to know for sure the yeast is good before you add it to the must. Otherwise, the must can set there for several days at room temperature. If that happens, indigenous yeast might do the fermentation for you and you not even know it... you would not normally want that to happen. (Some wineries prefer indigenous yeast fermentation, but that is for the pros, who know a lot about the local yeast and what to expect.)

The dead yeast, along with the other yeast you added, will all fall to the bottom as sediment. Once racked and cleared, you will never know they were there.


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