MisterGreen
Well-Known Member
After the pack is smacked, how long does it need to sit before being added to the starter? Once it is added, how long should the starter sit (on the stir plate) before pitching?
You can pitch the yeast immediately after smacking, but most people wait for the pack to swell first, just to verify that the yeast is alive and well. It takes anything from a couple hours to several days for the pack to swell depending on the variety of yeast and the age of the pack.
With a stir plate, I like to make the starter the evening before brew day, which gives it about 18 hour on the stir plate. For a propagator pack, an old pack, a small sample of washed yeast, or a pack that takes a long time (more than 12 hours) to start swelling; I leave it on the stir plate for an extra day.
Most of my starters are less than 1.5 liters, and I just pitch the whole starter into the fermenter. For larger starters, I chill for about 12 - 24 hours, decant the clear liquid, and just pitch the slurry.
-a.
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