RootDownBrewing
Well-Known Member
I want to make a starter for a 12 gallon batch but only have 1 vial of yeast. Can I make a 3 liter starter, pitch one vial of yeast into it, split it and pitch it into 2 fermentation buckets 24 hours later?
The best option would be to step-up a starter. By doing that, you wouldn't have to pitch a whole 3 liters, and you would end up with more yeast.
I'm a little confused as to what you mean here. I didn't think there was any difference in total volume with a step-up starter. I thought stepping up a starter just meant doubling the volume of wort at each stage, which is easier on the yeast than shocking it into a high amount of wort all at once... but in the end you still have the same amount of starter.
Can you clarify?
I've always known a step-up as making a starter, letting it ferment out, cold crash to settle out the yeast, pour out the "beer" on top, and create another starter with the yeast, and repeat the process.
When you add more wort to a starter (say you started with 1 liter, fermented it out, and poured another liter into it with the same gravity as the original 1 liter or starter), from what I'm aware of, the yeast really does not have to work at all to ferment that additional 1 liter. For easy numbers, lets say the first liter of wort had a gravity of 1.050, and it ferments to 1.000. When you pour an additional liter of 1.050 wort on top, now the yeast is only fermenting 2 liters with a gravity of 1.025, and the yeast growth may not be very great at that second stage. By the way, I've had a lot to drink tonight, because I have to work tomorrow, and drinking before work is a requirement.
I'm pretty sure you are supposed to decant the fermented wort, then double the amount of wort you put in last time. So you're still only fermenting 1.050, but due to the larger volume, you produce more yeast.
Your earlier post made it sound like you can make a smaller volume starter by stepping it up, but I'm still not sure how that's possible.
I'm pretty sure you are supposed to decant the fermented wort, then double the amount of wort you put in last time. So you're still only fermenting 1.050, but due to the larger volume, you produce more yeast.
Your earlier post made it sound like you can make a smaller volume starter by stepping it up, but I'm still not sure how that's possible.
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