We had a slow vat yesterday. Poor Stuart, he was in at 7am, hosing down the vat and setting off the pasteuriser.  We really should have finished washing down by late afternoon, but it didn’t work out that way. I was talking to my friend, John the Cheese Maker today for some advice about slow vats.  We came up with four reasons why your vat may be slow: Phage – or to give it its proper name is bacteriophage and is a virus which attacks starter culture.  Many starter cultures a