Easier way to make starters?

foltster said:

I don't agree with this. I feel you should pretty much always decant your starters to avoid the off flavors that can come from multiplying yeast.

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What off flavors?
Won't those same "off flavors" occur in your batch when it is fermenting? What's the difference?

Oscbert said:

What off flavors?
Won't those same "off flavors" occur in your batch when it is fermenting? What's the difference?

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Well if your doing a starter properly you will have beer that is oxidized. Is it enough to worry about? No clue.

Oscbert said:

What off flavors?
Won't those same "off flavors" occur in your batch when it is fermenting? What's the difference?

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Much of the sugar in the starter will be consumed in aerobic (growth/budding/multiplication) activity instead of anaerobic (pissing Alcohol and CO2) so the entire flavor profile will be different then the rest of your fermented beer.

Staters are fermented under very different conditions that your wort will be (no hops, stir plate, clear flask, temperature, etc).

On top of that my starters don't get temp controlled so they sit at about 77F.

Start sampling your starter wort and you probably won't enjoy all of it. Sometimes it is drinkable other times it tastes like nothing but esters.

Good point. Not sure if the oxidization that occurs in such a small amount would make a difference, but just in case it's worth it to decant. Thanks for the input Phoenixs4r and Foltster

I have a slightly different approach to the whole starter thing and I think it's fast too. I make my starters in batches of 4 in a pressure cooker. I Add DME and water in the proper amounts to Qrt sized mason jars and then I pressure cook them for 20mins. Once cool they go in the basement.

They are shelf stable and when I need to make a starter I just dump the contents into a sanitized flask and put on the stir plate. It has really reduced the burden of making a starter a day or two before you brew.