should I use a yeast starter?

I'm brewing a stout and I'm not sure if i should start my yeast in advance.
I'm using "white labs english ale yeast" and I own a 2L starter kit but I've never used it before I don't know if it"s NEEDED or recommended.
Thanks in advance for the help!

Well the gravity of your wort, the volume you are brewing, and the age/viability of your yeast all factor into this, but assuming we're talking about a 5 gallon batch of even moderate strength stout, the answer is yes.

These calculators should help you figure out how much of a starter to make:

http://yeastcalculator.com/
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

ThisAmericanBrew said:

I'm brewing a stout and I'm not sure if i should start my yeast in advance.
I'm using "white labs english ale yeast" and I own a 2L starter kit but I've never used it before I don't know if it"s NEEDED or recommended.
Thanks in advance for the help!

Click to expand...

My own personal opinion is that, assuming you are reasonably proficient in fermentation technique, you should use always use a starter irrespective of gravity, style or size. While the newer live yeast packaging provides much more active yeast than those of the past, more is nearly always a good thing. I began using starters soon after I started brewing all-grain and have had very good success and very, very few infected batches over the years, despite using a quasi-open fermentation for most of my beers.

The other advantage of making a starter is that it can also provide you with a lot of additional yeast at no additional cost. If you use your 2L starter kit, you will only need use a 1/2L or so to pitch and the rest can be bottled just as you would beer. When you're planning on brewing again, just take your bottle of yeast and make another starter (something smaller - you won't need 2L) to pitch. Assuming you stored things properly, since you are still using the first generation, there is little likelihood of a mutation. For your next brew, you would take the second bottle and repeat. So your original 2L starter will have provided enough yeast for perhaps three or four batches. This significantly reduces the cost of what is the most expensive (by weight) ingredient in brewing.

Again, you need to have a modicum of brewing skill to do this successfully, but frankly, it's not really that difficult. And remember that this advice is worth every penny you paid for it.

I always use a starter, even for my smaller beers (I just make a smaller starter). Of the calculators dryboroughbrewing mentions below, I really like yeastcalculator.com. It's numbers are based on your starter growth method, and the site provides a pretty straightforward and easy-to-read view of the approximate number of cells you'll grow.

Like I said, I always make at least a small starter. It doesn't happen often, but I have had a couple of "dud" yeast packages from both Wyeast and White Labs. They're great companies, but even the best of manufacturers cannot guarantee 100% success with every product, every time.

Making a starter is a good way to determine the yeast's viability. And by using one of the calculators above, you can ensure that you're not overpitching or underpitching.

For most beers, my starter method is:
1. (2-3 days before brewday) Pitch yeast into a starter of the appropriate size to reach my desired pitching rate.

2. Run the starter for 24-36 hours on my stirplate (most of my starters are done by the 36-hr mark)

3. Cover my flask with sanitized foil and place it in the refrigerator prior to brew day.

4. On the morning of brew day, decant as much of the starter wort from the compacted yeast cake as I can. Replace it with 200-300 ml of fresh starter wort. I pressure can starter wort in quart and pint jars, so I always have some on hand.

5. Swirl the flask to mix the cake with the new starter wort. This goes into my fermentation fridge at the set fermentation temp. This allows the yeast to wake up and be actively eating, as well as acclimates them to the temperature they'll be working at when I put them in the main wort.

I did this exact process with a beer last weekend. It was a 1.049 dry stout. I made a 1L starter and fed it another few hundred ml of starter that morning when I began brewing. The mini starter was at high krausen when I pitched. I had activity in my blow off tube within a few hours of pitching.

Awesome! Thanks for the advice and quick responses!