Flavour considerations from late starting fermentation?

[BrewBoyJoe]

I always use liquid yeast, often Wyeast smack pack, and normally all grain brew about 27 litre sized batches. I'm pretty busy and don't always find the time to make a starter. About 50% of the time with a smack pack the fermentation starts in good time, perhaps bubbling away nicely within only a few hours of pitching, but if I'm unlucky it can take perhaps 24 hours or more to get started.

I appreciate it's good practice to make a starter to avoid this variability, and this has the added benefit of cut'ting down on infection rates! I'm very anal about cleaning and sanitising, predominantly use a closed fermentation system, and touch wood have never had an infection! I appreciate it's possible just to have bad luck with this! I'll get to the point. Does anyone know of any off taste / flavour considerations associated with late starting fermentation? Or is the benefit of a starter more to do with cutting down infection rates?

[Cazamodo]

If I remember correctly from reading YEAST its not the lag time thats effects the flavour as much as the fact that an underpitched yeast is stressed as it has to reproduce more to become healthy in the wort, and its the stress to the yeast that causes the flavour change. also, I beleive that an underpitched yeast could give you more estery flavours... I think. I could be well off but I seem to remember when I brewed a hefe that I underpitched to get those flavours intentionally.

Im sure someone could answer that much better

[BrewBoyJoe]

That's interesting. I like a fruity beer! Perhaps there could be some advantages in certain circumstances as you say!