Adding only a few grains of yeast?

[peanutaxis]

So I was trying to make a 300ml starter culture and figured that I'd read the back of the packet of yeast and proportion the amounts down. So I added only a sprinkle of yeast grains, less than a gram, which should have been plenty for the 300ml of wort, and put it on the stirrer. But it didn't work, nothing happened.

Since then I have successfully started a starter culture of 300ml with about 2g of yeast, WAY more than it should need.

Why does this happen?

[astronomical]

It was probably working, but, not noticable... This happens often when you culture yeasts from beer bottles, too. It could take days to show serious signs of fermentation.

[RumBrewer]

So I was trying to make a 300ml starter culture and figured that I'd read the back of the packet of yeast and proportion the amounts down.

I think you're missing the point of making a starter.
The point is to scale UP not down. You are trying to build hundreds of billions of yeast cells. Give your starter a healthy dose of yeast and plenty of oxygen!
Sure, you cal culture up a starter from a very small amount of yeast, that's how labs do it all the time. But we are not working in a yeast lab, and we don't have to start with a small culture. So DUMP that pack in your starter and get it going. You'll end up with a healthy colony of yeast that will get your ferment chugging along in no time.

[Prairiepiss]

Lag time?
Misshandled yeast/bad yeast?
Temp?
To few active yeast cells per gram?
Any number of things?
It's kinda like pitching a 6 gram pkg in a 5 gal wash. It has a longer lag time then if a starter was made with the 6 grams.

Now my question is why are you only using 1 gram? I understand you are trying to make a starter culture. But when a 6 gram pack of yeast is around a dollar. Is it really worth skimping to save 18cents?

Maybe I'm just understanding the point? Or the problem?

[rad14701]

Yeast is too cheap and readily available in most areas to be stingy... The size of the active colony is what determines lag time... Start with a large enough healthy colony and your lag time can be reduced to mere minutes which helps vastly in reducing the chance of infection...

[peanutaxis]

Okay, thanks guys. I'll use more - I was just following the instructions figuring that using too much might produce off flavours in the starter.