First I'll say thanks to everyone for being so experienced and helpful. I have a question.
When I soak whole grains/chops/flakes/coarse flour with water and a little yeast sometimes I get a boozy beer smell that reminds me of cleaning up after a busy night of bartending. Stale beer. It is rather pungent and I was wondering why this happens. Is it normal or desirable? Sometimes I use potato water or a little malt powder in the soaker with the yeast to give them something more to eat.
Also, how much does the yeast multiply over 1 day? 2 days? 3 days? I once made a jewish rye with 20 cups of flour that used only a 1/4 teaspoon of yeast in a three day soaker. The resulting leavening power was like Vesuvius!
It's supposed to smell. That's the smell of fermentation. I can't answer your questions about how much the yeast multiplies.
The yeast feeds and multiplies creating by-products. Yes, it is young beer. If you want just a soaker, don't throw in any yeast.
I don't know how fast yeast multiplies but it does so exponentially. Meaning if you started with 1 million, you soon have 2 million, then 4 million, 8 mil, 16 mil, 32 mil and all these beasts are eating and burping CO2 gasses, making alcohol and splitting into two. This continues until all the food is consumed.
Mini