Yeast starters

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flyfisherwes

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When I brew I try to boil 3 batches within a few days of each other if not on the same day. That way I can bottle them at the same time to save on clean up. I hate clean up. But anyway I was wondering if I could make several, say 3-4, starters from one packet of liquid yeast. Assuming I'm brewing similar styles. Or if I could make a starter and keep it going by only using it to start other starters or by "feeding" it. Another option may be to open a yeast vial and simply culture some of it into a starter then re seal it.

Thoughts?
 
Sure. You can play with the Mr. Malty calculator to give yourself a sense of population counts, but realize that it will be only a very crude estimate. If you are going to split one yeast packet among four starters, you'll need to do it in a series of steps (500mL to 2L, perhaps, for average sized beers)
 
So I have beer I made about 50 days ago. It's great and came from liquid yeast. Can I harvest the yeast and make a bunch of starters?
 
Quick additional question. I make yeast starters sometimes a week before brewing...should I keep them in the fridge after a few days or is it fine to leave them out at room temp for the duration?

Any ill affects either way? Is a combo good - some time in fridge/out?
 
Surly said:
Search for yeast washing. That will give you a starting point.
Click to expand...

From the bottles not the carboy but I still need to look. I just thought yeast was washed from the carboy and that it should only be used a certain amount of times. I'm talkin about harvesting from a bottle then growing it to numbers an keeping
 
Since this is the newest yeast starter thread, I suppose I will post my question.
I have done starters in the past.
Not very scientific, I just used an old milk quart and boiled enough water to fill it with a cup of light DME. I never took any gravity readings and I fixed an air lock on it.

Now I am trying to learn new techniques and improve my brewing skills. I want to make a split batch (10 gallon split in two 5 gallon carboys) this weekend to see the difference between Nottingham dry yeast and WPL001. I washed yeast cake from a 001 brew 6 months ago and it has been sitting in my fridge. I decided to try a starter even though it has a low chance of still being alive and well. I used 24oz mason jar, O2, with a OG 1.035 with sanitized foil. Now 36hours later I see a sign of life, it looks like what 001 always looks like (violent).

Finally the question, how do I estimate how much healthy yeast I have?

Should I make a larger starter tonight and dump it into it just to be safe?

Edit:
Mr. Malty suggest 87ml, I do not know how practical it is to measure this. Suggestions?
 
mredge73 said:
Since this is the newest yeast starter thread, I suppose I will post my question.
I have done starters in the past.
Not very scientific, I just used an old milk quart and boiled enough water to fill it with a cup of light DME. I never took any gravity readings and I fixed an air lock on it.

Now I am trying to learn new techniques and improve my brewing skills. I want to make a split batch (10 gallon split in two 5 gallon carboys) this weekend to see the difference between Nottingham dry yeast and WPL001. I washed yeast cake from a 001 brew 6 months ago and it has been sitting in my fridge. I decided to try a starter even though it has a low chance of still being alive and well. I used 24oz mason jar, O2, with a OG 1.035 with sanitized foil. Now 36hours later I see a sign of life, it looks like what 001 always looks like (violent).

Finally the question, how do I estimate how much healthy yeast I have?

Should I make a larger starter tonight and dump it into it just to be safe?

Edit:
Mr. Malty suggest 87ml, I do not know how practical it is to measure this. Suggestions?
Click to expand...

I'm new to this too but I've been reading a lot about it. Do u know how little 87ml is? It's 3oz. From what I've read that's just not possibly right. Might want to check maltys numbers or your plug ins. From what I've read also it's hard to pitch too much yeast.

Now your question about the second starter takes me back to the original question. And some other ppls questions. I don't see how it would be wrong to wait until the current starter has consumed the food it has, let it settle to decant the liquid, then make another starter solution with dme and pour it in on top,

This is what I want to do.... Make a starter from a new yeast pack or a bottle sediment and keep said culture viable for an extended period. Liquid yeast is expensive and I don't get paid for my time at work.
 
As for keeping it for an extended time, I am going to try this next time:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/d...tarter-then-why-not-farm-yeast-freeze-269488/

I think that will answer your questions about yeast pack splitting.

My problem is that I don't have a known starting point and I am trying to guess at if I have enough or not. I am surprised that I even got it going after such a long sleep stored at 40F. I will plan to make another starter, about half gallon, tomorrow and dump it all in. Should start right away, on brew day I will put it in the fridge in the morning to separate it and decant and pitch. Wish me luck.
 
flyfisherwes said:
So I have beer I made about 50 days ago. It's great and came from liquid yeast. Can I harvest the yeast and make a bunch of starters?
Click to expand...

You are talking about culturing from dregs. It is certainly possible, but it is a bit tedious and time consuming. If you are looking for a more long-term way of maintaining a yeast supply, there are other options like washing, etc.
 

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