Seven

Recipes 

Great video, thank you for making it!

I have a question though: when do we know that it's time to "step-up" to the next level? Do you go by time elapsed or some other indicator like krausen rising and falling?

To put this question another way: How do I know when the yeast starter is done fermenting and ready to be stepped-up to the next level?

Old_E

Recipes 

Great video! Thanks!

I think I need to buy that book too.

barrooze

Recipes 

Good question. I run my stir plate for 18-24 hours at room temp (70-75*F) for each step. Maybe Billy can chime in with what the Pope says in his book.

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Kegged: Caramel Macchiato stout, NB The Innkeeper w/ 1469, Sour-Worted Berliner Weiss (spontaneously fermented), Bitter Shadows IBA, Black Flash IBA Primary: Wild Texan On Deck: Pilsner/CTZ SMaSH On the Horizon: BM Centennial Blonde, Pliny the Elder clone Updated: 2012/05/22 | My Double-Decker Keezer/Ferm Chamber | Germanic Pale Ale

bhughes

Recipes 

If I were making a starter from yeast that I had washed from a previous batch as described in the sticky thread, how would I know how many cells of yeast I was starting with to use the pitch count calculator?
You say that 1 package of yeast has 100 billion cells. If you just use a certain amount of wort, like 1 liter, are you still going to end up 200 billions cells in the end even if you started with less than 100 billion cells?

StMarcos

Recipes 

That's a good explanation on how to use the table to make the right amount of cells. However, the book "Yeast" also explains in detail why you should step up in 5-10x increments, involving the state of the yeast after the fermentation. Pitching 2L starter into another 2L starter could be considered vastly overpitching, and the resultant cells might not be in great health. I'm far from an expert here, but I think it has to do with oxygen and stearols or something....

Patirck

Recipes 

Is it possible to simply add new wort to the flask on the stir plate and get the same (or similar) effect? It seems that if I pitch a smack pack into 500 ml of wort and let it go on the stir plate for 6 hours, then add another 500 ml of wort, repeat this over the next 24 hours, I would have a 2L starter with a bunch more than 100 billion yeast cells. I doubt it is as efficient in terms of creating yeast cells but I bet it would more than double in size and take a lot less time and effort.

mikeysab

Recipes 

Hey Billy, did you take this video down, or will my PC just not play it for some reason. It says "Video not loaded".

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Sulli

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Very nice video Billy, it's good to see someone trying to help the brewing community learn better ways to improve the quality of their beers.

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"Working to make better beer for all mankind."

BillyBroas

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Hmm it's working for me. Anyone else having problems playing the video?

Thanks. I wish I could give back even 10% of what I've learned on HBT.

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