RickWG

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I went to ballast point and also American home brew supply this week to get what I needed for a DIPA that I wanted to make. The thing is hoppy!
Here's the deal.
Ballast point, where I got the recipe and also AHBS said that I should skip making a starter with the white labs liquid yeast. Too much chance of contamination and such.

I just did my boil and aerated and mixed it up real well, took a reading and it's 1.09 ish.
White labs says to make a starter for over 1.07. I assume this is just going to take a while to start if I just pitch it?

Waiting for ~75 degrees in the fermetor right now to pitch the yeast (and wait for some replies from you guys.). But if I have to make a starter I have to let the batch sit for a while while it gets going.

Do I...

pitch it at 75 ish and forget the starter?
make a starter and let it sit?

Thanks. I have an idea what to do but don't want to poison the conversation.

Gonna take the dog for a walk while it comes down 5 degrees or so.

Thanks.

david_42

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The purpose of a starter is to grow more yeast before making your beer. You have to do that several days before brewing. There is nothing to be gained by making a starter now, pitch what you have.

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Willsellout

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I would have played it safe and made a starter. I mean a little water and corn sugar isn't too hard to mix up real quick to get things moving. But I don't think it will be a big deal, it should start just maybe a little slower. I always make starters as the norm just because I get a quicker fermentation. This next batch I will be saving a little wort to use as a starter for future boils.
On a side note, I would make sure you aerate the hell out of it to ensure a full fermentation. I got a stuck fermentation on my last beer which was supposed to be around 7% ABV because I didn't aerate enough (I think). Turned out it's about 4.5% and slightly sweeter than I wanted.



Dan

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McKBrew

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I've heard more than one person being given advice to not make a starter due to "risk of contamination." WTF? The home brewing process is all about sanitation, and if you treat a starter the same as making a batch of beer, you will not have any problems.

treehouse

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Sanitation is important of course. The thing about "risk of contamination" comes from the starter being a two step process. If you are growing up your yeast you could potentially be growing up a contaminant too and giving it a head start on your yeast. That being said, starters are a good idea but not necessarily necessary. They just need to be "clean" is all.

RickWG

Recipes 

Well, I pitched the unstarted yeast last night and a starter I made a day or so ago (That the stoppr fell into) and this morning I have a nice foamy inch or so thick layer on top. Blorping about 1 every 5 seconds out the blow off tube.
Time will tell.

(As a synthetic chemist I tend to over think things a bit too much sometimes. I'm sure the starter I made was clean enough to do the trick )

So there are two vials of yeast in there and if that isn't enough then I don't know what is.

1.091 was the OG.

treehouse

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Argggg! A hearty brew matey. What are you making?

RickWG

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A double IPA I got the recipe from Ballast point brewery. They say it will be like their Dorado Double. If it is I'll be really pleased.

Just checked on it and it's glorping more steadily now and the room smells like hops. I just love that smell. There's 7.5 oz of hops in there now and two more for the dry hop secondary. Bout a inch and a half of krausen on the top and it dredged up all the hop leaf from the bottom of the fermentor.

Here's the details
11 # coopers litght LME
1/2# 20L crystal malt
1.5 ox galena 60 min
3 oz crystal 60 min
2.5 oz crystal 15 min
2 oz crystal 1 min

2 oz crystal dry hop.

WhiteLabs Ca Ale yeast.

I was completely floored when I took the OG and it was 1.091! That hydrometer sticks a long way out of the wort to get to that reading.