mthompson

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I didn't want this to get buried at the end of one of the other thousand starter threads! Sorry in advance for the addition to the list....

We'll be brewing our first batch on Saturday, 11/01. Th LHBS sold us on 'most people switch out the dry pack for a liquid' speech...but now I am stuck. I don't have any DME, other than in my beer kit, to make a proper starter....and I don't know where I would find Malta Goya 'round here for a second best.

Here's my choices:

1. (preferred) Make starter from some suggestions y'all give me.

2. Pitch liquid

3. Pitch dry pack included with the kit


I am new to brewing beer, but have tons of experience growing bacterial cultures in the lab on stir plates, shaker plates, etc. (it's half of my M.S. thesis right now). So, I want to make a starter, but am lost as to what would be best to use for it. Should I sacrifice a bit of my kit and is if so, do I pitch the whole 'mini-beer' into the wort, or decant and pitch slurry?

Thanks in advance for your help, I wouldn't go anywhere else!

MT

Penguin

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last time i had that ordeal i used some of the dme from the kit. the way i see it is its going right back into the product anyway. worked fine for me.

telemarc

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Pitch the dry...I've had great success with dry yeast. Just re-hydrate it in boiled (sterilized water) cooled to 75-80F for a half and hour first. Then pitch it into your cooled wort and stir it in well.

DrinksWellWithOthers

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Depending on your predicted original gravity, you may not even need a starter. You can do as Penguin suggested, which is probably what I would do, and grab some DME from your kit and make a starter. Malto Goyo can be found at any grocery store and should be easy enough to find.

shaggynuts24

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chances are that the liquid yeast bought from your LHBS is of higher quality than the dry yeast pack in your beer kit, i would also trust it to be more active as well.

here is what i did last time i had a liquid yeast from my LHBS

1. night before i made a mini-wort (1 quart water - 1 cup liquid malt extract) sacrifice a little bit of your DME for this --- the goal is to have enough nutrients to feed the yeast over night so it multiplies

2. after boiling your mini-wort -- cool it down to room temp. (70-80 degree's) also have your liquid yeast at roughly the same temp

3. add the 2 in a sterilized collapse-able container (i used a milk jug - you can also use something else that has a blow-off tube or anything that will release the pressure)

4. when it is time to add it to your wort ... shake it up really good and then pitch it to your main wort

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Planning: Red Ale
Primary: Empty
Secondary: Empty
Bottled: Empty
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pfgonzo

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At what gravity would you say a starter is more recommended?

mthompson

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Thanks everyone,

We (wife and I) are gonna be making the True Brew - Nut Brown Ale. I don't know the OG target for this beer, although I suspect it may be ~1.050 because it has the addition of 1 lb brown sugar along with the other DME, LME, and specialty grains. The dry yeast is Munton's, if that makes a difference.

The kit has 2 lbs. of two different DME, so I don't think it'll miss the 1/2 - 1 cup for a starter. Plus I only have a little over 36 hrs before brew time....so I'll most likely end up just pitching the whole starter instead of settling/decanting. I will be following the Palmer steps (similar to shaggynuts' above) and putting it in a 1000 mL flask and swirl it every 2 hrs or so while I'm home.

Any other suggestions? Thanks again,

MT

mthompson

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UPDATE-

The starter got an extra day to grow, ended up brewing on Sunday.

Checked it early this morning (<12 hrs in) and I was glad I ran an overflow tube. It was burping a big blast of CO2 every second or so.

Now for the wait!

MT

DrinksWellWithOthers

Recipes 

Without doing any math, for a 5 gallon batch I'd say anything above maybe 1.035. So this only applies to a few styles of beers like Milds and other low alcohol session beers. Check out Mr. Malty for a pitching rate calculator to determine when you should use a starter, starter size, or how many vials or smack packs to use.

Kauai_Kahuna

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mthompson - Welcome to homebrewing, and your wife is brewing with you? I like her already, that's a good woman you got.
One item, you never mentioned if it was a smack pack or a ready to pitch vial. I use the WLP vials all the time and never noticed any classic under pitching problems. It all depends on your yeast and the OG of the wort, but you know that already. Have fun, and don't drink it all at once.

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In Primary: Belgium Chimay clones.
In Secondary: Braggot, pale ale, end of the world white.
Conditioning: Mead, Cider, braggot, Belgium Wheat.
On Tap: Clones, Chimay Blue, Red, Porter, malted cider.
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