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tedclev · 03-21-2011, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aschecte

ok here's a big newbie question but should I make a starter for dry yeast also or only liquid ?

Rehydrate dry yeast according to manufacturer's instructions. Make a starter for liquid yeast. If you have harvested yeast from a yeast cake (Bernie has an awesome thread on how to yeast wash- it's really really easy!) you make a starter, even if the yeast was originally a dry yeast because now, obviously, it is liquid slurry.

**DeathBrewer** · 03-22-2011, 08:32 PM

Dry yeast packs have a much higher cell count than what comes in the liquid yeasts. A starter is always recommended for liquid, but not usually necessary for dry yeasts, unless they are old or you are making a REALLY strong beer (and even then you could throw two packs in for the price of one liquid yeast.)

**DeathBrewer** · 03-22-2011, 08:34 PM

DO NOT rehydrate yeast according to manufacturer's instructions. Many of them say to heat water to 90°F or to boil water and let it cool. Many brewers end up killing their yeast. I always recommend to just pour it in.

Again, there is a very high cell count...what is lost from not rehydrating is not a problem and will only give a tiny amount of nutrient to the remaining yeast, which could be seen as a slight benefit. Pitching your yeast dry won't cause any problems.

demens · 03-23-2011, 03:39 AM

Well, i've been reading this thread all night, finally got to the end and see that its still active so i'll ask this question here (http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/made-my-1st-starter-gravity-off-charts-234355/)

How come the gravity of my starter ended up at 1.060? Is that going to stress out the yeast? The beer i'm brewing is 1.047.

**DeathBrewer** · 03-23-2011, 04:07 AM

It's a bit high, but it will be fine. There is enough yeast to take care of it and they will propogate, which is the most important. I make most of my starters at 1.050.

Not sure why you ended up with a 1.060 starter (other than using volume instead of weight) but I wouldn't worry about it.

demens · 03-23-2011, 02:57 PM

I see signs of activity in the morning so i guess it worked out fine. Will be careful and try to weight the DME rather then use cups next time.

ThePearsonFam · 03-23-2011, 03:34 PM

I didn't read through the 1st 15 pages of this thread so I'll apologize now if I'm stating the obvious...

The starter is intended to get the yeast going and to grow the number of yeast cells to the right number to best handle the fermentation process. One of the reasons you should aim for < 1050 starters is that you want to grow the yeast, not make beer. Too much fermentable content will push the yeast into producing beer, not growing cell count. Will it matter, no... just a target.

LarsonLE · 03-24-2011, 02:42 AM

Hey guys so I just made my second yeast starter, and the final result is always questionable. Why do I end up with 400 mL of starter? I've heard that this can sometimes produce negative effects. Should I boil up some water and add it to the starter in order to increase the volume?

Also, how in the hell do you guys get gravity readings of your yeast starters? Wouldn't the sample be somewhere around a quarter of the yeast starter, which risks contamination?

tedclev · 03-24-2011, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeathBrewer

DO NOT rehydrate yeast according to manufacturer's instructions. Many of them say to heat water to 90°F or to boil water and let it cool. Many brewers end up killing their yeast. I always recommend to just pour it in.

Again, there is a very high cell count...what is lost from not rehydrating is not a problem and will only give a tiny amount of nutrient to the remaining yeast, which could be seen as a slight benefit. Pitching your yeast dry won't cause any problems.

When using dry yeasts I also pretty much only pitch without rehydrating and have never had an issue, although now I only use liquid or washed "dry" yeast. Still, I don't understand how anyone could kill their yeast by following the instructions, unless they are pitching into water that hasn't cooled enough, in which case they haven't followed instructions. Either way, do what works with your dry yeasts, but starters for liquid are definitely a must for best results.

LarsonLE · 03-24-2011, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarsonLE

Hey guys so I just made my second yeast starter, and the final result is always questionable. Why do I end up with 400 mL of starter? I've heard that this can sometimes produce negative effects. Should I boil up some water and add it to the starter in order to increase the volume?

Also, how in the hell do you guys get gravity readings of your yeast starters? Wouldn't the sample be somewhere around a quarter of the yeast starter, which risks contamination?

So I went ahead and added some water, because after I found out that I would read just more than a 1 L starter (mymalty) in order to get the best yeast starter possible. I'm sitting at around a 1 L starter.