yeast starter with no DME or other nutrients

how can i make a poor mans yeast starter. PALMER says use 1/2 cup DME and some left over goodies (i guess he means old yeast cake ?). i have neither what can i improvise with ? all i have is a pouch of NOTTINGHAM.

I made one the other days using plain grocery store bought corn syrup, water, and of course the yeast i pitched into.

This was a fast acting yeast WLP023 and the day after in the afternoon, was well ready to be thrown into the job.

You do not need to make a starter for Nottingham yeast. Save your time there are plenty of cells in that package.

could i take one of my bottle conditioned beers from the local brewery(for sediment) and some corn sugar to make one ? i thought a yeast starter would yield a better beer ????

yeasty said:

could i take one of my bottle conditioned beers from the local brewery(for sediment) and some corn sugar to make one ? i thought a yeast starter would yield a better beer ????

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Not if you make it with corn sugar. And dry yeast doesn't need a starter anyway. You may want to re-read Palmer.

Yeast starters are for multiplying the cell count of the liquid yeasts primarily. Those 11 gram packs of dry yeast contain roughly 2 times the yeast compared to a liquid version which is enough for a 1.050 to 1.060 beer.

It is not recommended to make yeast starters for dry yeast and to also using corn sugar is not a good plan either. You want your yeast to replicate and grow on maltose instead of fructose.

so i am mixing approaches ? dry yeast just needs to be re-hydrated and liquid should be done with a starter ? palmer says use dme but i didnt see where he said why.

You got it. Dry yeast doesn't need a starter, but liquid yeast does better with a starter.

You use DME to make a starter because you want the yeast to propagate using malt sugar for food, not simple sugars.

It is more common to rehydrate dry yeast in tap water, and not make a starter per se.

I've got the same question, but with liquid yeast... I have Wyeast 1214 and I am going to be brewing Williams Belgian Tripple. Its supposed to have a 1.08 OG. I don't have any DME. I do have a Red Ale coming out of primary this afternoon, but that was made with Nottingham. Can I take some of that cake and save it for a starter? I don't know what the different flavors will end up like...

BubbaK said:

I've got the same question, but with liquid yeast... I have Wyeast 1214 and I am going to be brewing Williams Belgian Tripple. Its supposed to have a 1.08 OG. I don't have any DME. I do have a Red Ale coming out of primary this afternoon, but that was made with Nottingham. Can I take some of that cake and save it for a starter? I don't know what the different flavors will end up like...

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Yep. Go here. It's easy.

I read through the washing thread... very interesting... But I didn't find anything about using the washed yeast in combo with another yeast of a different type.

If it is ok to use this as a starter, what is the timing? I want to brew next weekend.

So I should give my yeasties a bath and let them separate. Once that is done, I can pitch my wyeast pack into that? Let it sit a few days, then pitch into the new wort?

If you don't pitch enough yeast to a high gravity beer, will it just take longer to ferment, or will it screw anything up?

I'm not sure what you're asking. You can reuse a yeast cake, but not use it for a starter, since the beer in it is already fermented.

For a starter, the point is to grow more viable yeast cells to ferment your beer. The only way to do that is to feed it with something similar to what you want them to be acclimated to. Like wort, preferably in the 1.040.

If you can't buy DME, or LME, then don't bother making a starter.

BubbaK said:

But I didn't find anything about using the washed yeast in combo with another yeast of a different type.

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You can always blend yeast strains, but the results tend to be unpredictable - you never know which strain will dominate the flavor profile.

BubbaK said:

If it is ok to use this as a starter, what is the timing? I want to brew next weekend.

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You usually make a starter about 2-3 days before brewing. If the yeast is freshly washed, you don't need a starter at all, there'll be plenty of viable yeast cells to ferment a five gallon batch. If it's been sitting in the fridge for more than a week or so, then a starter is a good idea.

BubbaK said:

So I should give my yeasties a bath and let them separate. Once that is done, I can pitch my wyeast pack into that? Let it sit a few days, then pitch into the new wort?

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No, you need to either pitch the washed yeast into the new batch directly, or make a proper starter with wort. Or you could not wash the yeast at all and pitch directly onto the yeast cake from the previous batch

BubbaK said:

If you don't pitch enough yeast to a high gravity beer, will it just take longer to ferment, or will it screw anything up?

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It's likely to produce more esters and other flavor compounds and is also more likely to stall prematurely if conditions aren't optimal.

YooperBrew said:

I'm not sure what you're asking. You can reuse a yeast cake, but not use it for a starter, since the beer in it is already fermented.

For a starter, the point is to grow more viable yeast cells to ferment your beer. The only way to do that is to feed it with something similar to what you want them to be acclimated to. Like wort, preferably in the 1.040.

If you can't buy DME, or LME, then don't bother making a starter.

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OK.. that is what I was looking for.. I don't have a LHBS, so everything is through the interweb... So far, I've only bought kits.. Would it pay to open the LME that came in this kit and use some of that for a starter? It would make my boil a bit less LME though...

ArcaneXor- Thanks for the responses... It cleared up quite a bit of questions I had..

How long can an open package of LME sit in the fridge? I've got a package pre-measured for my next batch.. I can steal a bit from that to make a starter if I have to..

There is a product called Malta Goya that is found at most supermarkets. It is an alcohol-free malt beverage. What this means is that besides other sweeteners, it is mostly un-fermented beer.

In a pinch, you can use this as a medium for a starter. The problem is that Malta Goya tastes nothing like what you want your beer to taste like (or at least I hope). So, you will need to decant the spent Malta Goya off of your starter before you pitch it into your brew.