Save the Parent Yeast.... Time line question.

Let me know what you think about this...

I just built stirplate and am making my first starter for my next brew.

I am making 10 gallons of 1.046 brew.

I plan on pitching yeast tomorrow around 9pm. I started a yeast starter with 500ml of dme (3.5oz and 500ml of sterile water) and the 100 ml of the vial of whitelabs 001

l put it on stir plate and left it over night and added another 400ml of dme and water around 1230 today. Everything looks good.

I was planning on pulling half the yeast from the stir plate off, and putting it a mason jar around 9pm tonight and saving it for my next brew, when I need to make a starter. Even considering doubling the mason jar on stir plate over a 48 hour period to have 500ml to use for the next starter, and 500 for future.

I have used mr malty before, but those numbers can sometimes be really big.

Do I need more time to get this starter going or will I be okay with this progress?

First, White Labs vials are only 35 mL, but that's just nit-picking. Most people let stir-plate starters go for 36-48 hours per step (step-up factor of 4-10), so 24 hours is pushing it, but better than nothing. Also, a White Labs vial is plenty to innoculate up to 10L, so you didn't have to split up your growth into two stages (500 mL + 400 mL). For a 10 gal batch (40L), I'd also think you would want a much larger starter in the range or 2L or 3L instead of 0.9L.

As for saving yeast from a starter, you should really only do it if you're going to use it in the next 2-4 weeks if you are storing it in the fridge. If you do, a good procedure is to sterilize the container (mason jar in your case) in a pressure cooker first before you pour the yeast in.

Your need to either cut down on your DME or add more water to your starters. The recommended ratio is 10 ml water to every gram of DME. At 3.5 oz DME (approx 100 grams) to 500 ml of water you are stressing your yeast as the gravity of your starter is around 1.072.

jmf143 said:

Your need to either cut down on your DME or add more water to your starters. The recommended ratio is 10 ml water to every gram of DME. At 3.5 oz DME (approx 100 grams) to 500 ml of water you are stressing your yeast as the gravity of your starter is around 1.072.

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I agree with jmf143. I do around 80ml DME per 800ml water (basically a qt mason jar). I'd suggest picking up a 12pk of mason jars for around $10. If you're in a pinch I usually whip up a couple in the microwave or even better, make them in advance with a pressure cooker.

If you're interested in making them in advance, here's a link on how it's done.
http://brewgeeks.com/make-starters.html

I kind of do what you do. If I need a 1.2L starer, I'll make a 1.7L starter and then save the extra yeast made for the next starter. I think it's better than saving washed yeast b/c you know its pretty pure (no hop trub, etc), and since I always make a starter with it you know its pretty viable. I've only been doing this for 3-4 months, so I dont know how long I'll keep the parent-pitch going, but I would assume that 8-10 brews out of it will be sufficient.