I feel like I’ve read about this somewhere, so I’m sorry if it is addressed here. I didn’t find on a search. My starter has been in fridge and I went to feed it after a little over 48 hrs. There was a liquid, maybe a brownish, sitting on top of starter, I went ahead skimmed it.
I fed it afterwards so I’ll see what happens but curious what that was on there. Thank you!
Could either be separation or hooch. The fact that the liquid was brownish sounds like hooch. But a little over 48 hours is quite quick for a starter to form hooch if it’s in the fridge. While i’m quite sure it’s hooch can you briefly describe your starter and maintenance. Flour, hydration, starter to fresh flour ratio, how long it sits at room temperature before refrigeration? etc.
Hooch means it’s hungry so feeding it is a good call. If you wish your starter to be more tangy then stir it in before feeding. If you wish your starter to be less tangy then skim it off (like you did). Shoul it be separation then perhaps keep a lower hydration starter.