Advantages of stir plate
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Yes. It keeps your yeast continually in suspension, and continually aerated. You get much better growth with a starter than without.
I am not sure what the cons are. Maybe cost, and you need electricity to run it. And you want a vessel with a flat bottom so the stir bar won't get thrown.
I am not sure what the cons are. Maybe cost, and you need electricity to run it. And you want a vessel with a flat bottom so the stir bar won't get thrown.
Thanks all. How much faster can you get a starter to a pitch size? Moderately noob-ish question here. I usually just make 2 cups water an 1/2 cup DME thn pitch a smack pack or dry pack of yeast in growler and wait 24 hours. Pitch entire cake onto wort. Not sure how to determine pitch rates yet. I make mostly (all) ales so I like a nice healthy bunch of yeasties when pitching.
Recently got immersion wort chiller and aeration stone setup. So I was just looking at a stir plate as the next best way to improve my brew taste (I do five gallon boil with propane, I made a fermentation chamber that holds well at 64 degrees).
I am going to try yeast washing and I want to make sure the yeast is viable as possible from starter. I think stir plate is best sol'n.
Recently got immersion wort chiller and aeration stone setup. So I was just looking at a stir plate as the next best way to improve my brew taste (I do five gallon boil with propane, I made a fermentation chamber that holds well at 64 degrees).
I am going to try yeast washing and I want to make sure the yeast is viable as possible from starter. I think stir plate is best sol'n.
Here's a nifty little chart of why it's good to have a stir plate.
you get a lot more yeast cells by using a stir plate.
you get a lot more yeast cells by using a stir plate.
The starter isn't done faster (although maybe it actually is a bit), the fermentation of your 5 gallon wort is what really starts faster. I've been happy with my stir plate although the only real advantage I've seen is that I don't have to manually shake it and the starters are a lot smaller.
I can now make starters for lagers and large gravity beers in my 2L flask without having to step up at all.
Take all the guess work out of yeast pitching by using Mr. Malty
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
I can now make starters for lagers and large gravity beers in my 2L flask without having to step up at all.
Take all the guess work out of yeast pitching by using Mr. Malty
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Just look at the difference between stir plate and everything else. In the long run, that translates to money. If you need a particular cell count, it will cost you less DME to get there due to the efficiency increase.
wolverinebrewer
Well-Known Member
Another 'pro' that nobody mentioned is you don't need to tend to the starter by constantly shaking it for the next 24 hours. You can play Ron Popeil- set it, and forget it!
With a stirplate Wyeast suggests that 12-18 hours is enough to propagate the yeast. With intermittent shaking I would go for 36 - 48 hours to be confident of the same level of propagation.
Plus with the stirplate you can often make a smaller starter saving the cost of the extra DME.
As already stated - set and forget.
Plus with the stirplate you can often make a smaller starter saving the cost of the extra DME.
As already stated - set and forget.
scottvin
Well-Known Member
Quick question (might be a dumb one) - how long should you leave the stirplate turned on?
I usually start mine the night before I intend on brewing. By pitch time, that sucker is rocking! I just dump in the whole thing.
If I get delayed by a day or two, I turn off the plate and allow the yeast to settle out. Then decant most of the liquid, swirl, and pour.
If I get delayed by a day or two, I turn off the plate and allow the yeast to settle out. Then decant most of the liquid, swirl, and pour.
scottvin
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
I usually stir for 24 h, rest for 24 h, then crash cool in the fridge. I then decant most of the liquid then pitch the slurry once it has warmed to a temp that is close to the fermentation temp. If you make a small starter then there is no need to decant, but in general you should try to avoid pitching more than 5% of your total wort volume. If you allow the starter to go to completion, then it is best to let it rest to help build up the glycogen reserves. This will help your final attenuation.
A stir plate is probably one of the best investments I have made.
A stir plate is probably one of the best investments I have made.
william_shakes_beer
Well-Known Member
Dont forget to fish out the stir bar!!!
DSmith
Well-Known Member
Try to avoid dumping the stirbar into the fermenter, it doesn't have to be removed once the starter is taken off the stirplate. A computer hardrive magnet works great on the outside of the flask to move the stirbar to the side and keep it from getting dumped. Get the yeast out first.
Any magnet will work. it doesn't take much to lift the magnet up the side of the stirplate if you want to fish it out. Or just hold the stirbar in the flask while you pour the yeast, then take it off when you are done so you can dump the magnet.
This.
And stir plates can provide up to 6x more yeast growth (thats 6x greater cell count) than intermittant shaking alone. Sometimes even more.
i have dumped the stirbar in my wort every time. it was also sanitized before it was put in there, so no worries.
That works best if you DON'T want to use the stirbar again before the beer is done fermenting...
I just picked one up from my lhbs yesterday. I actually came with another magnet to hold the stir bar to the side while you dump in the yeast.
I'll be using it for the first time tonight to make a starter for wy 3944 for an Allagash white type beer that I will be brewing tomorrow. Any tips before I start?
I'll be using it for the first time tonight to make a starter for wy 3944 for an Allagash white type beer that I will be brewing tomorrow. Any tips before I start?
i ordered 5 more stirbars after i did it the first time. lesson learned.
If you are using an erlenmeyer flask for the first time, and heating it on the stove, you probably want to use some fermcap-s or at the very least VERY CAREFULLY monitor your boil. I tend to use the lowest setting on my stove once I get even remotely close to boiling temps, and even then without fermcap, it is extremely easy to boil over. The shape of the flask channels the foam straight up and out.
If you are using DME, add the DME to cold water in the flask and shake the bejeezus out of it to mix it before you heat it. DO NOT add DME, or your stir bar, for that matter, to the water/wort at boiling or near-boiling temperatures in an erlenmeyer flask. You will get a pretty volcano and spray hot wort all over the place.
So I've had a starter of wyeast 3944 (belgian wit) sitting on the stir plate for about 10 hours now, in 1L of water and 100g of DME... per instructions of mr. malty. I plan on pitching in about 8 hrs. Do I keep it on the starter until then, or should I take it off? Should I dump the whole starter or try to get some of the yeast to settle so I can decant the liquid? Usually I make a starter 3-4 days before so I have time to let it sit in the fridge and settle. I don't know what to do in this case.
