How do I make a starter from a Wyeast packet?

Got lots of suggestions to make my own starter... Not sure I know how to do that yet.

Help?

nkacree said:

Got lots of suggestions to make my own starter... Not sure I know how to do that yet.

Help?

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Yes, you can make a starter using the Wyeast pack.

You can also harvest that yeast when done fermenting, wash it, store it for a bit then use it in another starter for a future batch.

Opps - i see that you asked a question I did not answer.

What questions do you have? You said you had suggestions already. Search the site and you will find many threads about this.

4 qts water to 1 cup DME. Boil water & add DME. Boil for 15 minutes. Cool in ice bath to 70-65'. Pour into flask (you will have around 1800ml) & then add Wyeast. Put on stirplate for 24-48 hours. Montanaandy

Montanaandy said:

4 qts water to 1 cup DME. Boil water & add DME. Boil for 15 minutes. Cool in ice bath to 70-65'. Pour into flask (you will have around 1800ml) & then add Wyeast. Put on stirplate for 24-48 hours. Montanaandy

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That would make for a starter with an OG of approximately 1.022. That is awful weak. Wyeast recommends an OG of 1.030-1.040. Many people suggest keeping it closer to 1.040.

Wyeast Labs said:

Starter Recipe:
The optimal media for cell growth and health require using a malt based media (DME) fortified with nutrients. Gravity should be kept near 1.040 and cultures should be grown at 70°F.

Recipe
1 cup DME (100g, 3.5oz)
½ tsp Wyeast Nutrient
1qt.(1L) H2O
Mix DME, nutrient, and water.
Boil 20 minutes to sterilize.
Pour into a sanitized flask or jar with loose lid or foil.
Allow to cool to 70°F.
Shake well and add yeast culture.

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Follow my link, Andy is a "bit" off with the 16 cups water to 1 cup DME recommendation. If his measurement you could make a 5 gallon batch of beer with 5 cups of DME.

Zane - you a are partially correct - I meant to type 2 qts of water/64 o to 1 cup/8 oz DME as per Palmer. You advocate 16 oz of water to 4 oz of DME which would translate to 32 oz of water to 8 oz of DME. Too thick and more than is needed. I will stick with Palmer's recommendations as they have served me well. Montanaandy.

1.5c dme and 2qt water yields 1.033

"1.5c dme and 2qt water yields 1.033"

So your point is...
I will stick with 8oz/1 cup DME/64 oz H2o. If you want to use 50% more DME go for it. Ultimately, use a stir plate or you are completely wasting your time. Montanaandy

I don't mean to be anal, but I think you are confusing the fact that 1 cup of DME is not 8 oz by weight, its approximately 3.5 to 4oz by weight. Besides even Palmer recommends going with 1 cup to 32oz (1 qt) to produce an OG 1.040:

How to Brew said:

Boil a pint (1/2 quart) of water and stir in 1/2 cup of DME. This will produce a starter of about 1.040 OG.

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"I think you are confusing the fact that 1 cup of DME is not 8 oz by weight, its approximately 3.5 to 4oz by weight. "

I stand corrected.

I was actually going by Jamil/Palmer's recommendations in Brewing Classic Styles and they advise 6oz "by weight" DME to 2 qts water. If an 8 oz measuring cup is only 3-4 oz by weight then I have been off. So it looks like I have not been using as much DME as is technically recommended.

The next time I make a starter I will try 2 cups of DME to 64 oz water. That will be a seriously thick starter after a boil down. Will be interesting to see if my stirplate is powerful enough to handle it. Also not looking forward to burning through 2 x the DME each time I make a starter. Montanaandy

Some DME's weigh more than others. For example, I have a plain wheat DME that weighs 4.5 ozs per cup. So I always weigh first. BTW: I put in 6 DME to 64oz water in Beersmith and it calculates that as having an OG of 1.033. I think that is what Mordantly was trying to say. That is still well within the "technical recommendations." I agree that using a lot of DME for a starter sucks because it is so damn expensive. So to sum, why not just cut the difference and go with 1.5 cups to 2 qts. You will make a better mixture for your yeast and will stretch the use of your DME out.

Any way you cut it $4 a lb XL DME is way cheaper than $6 a vial WL yeast when you're harvesting and reusing yeast

The moral of the story, and what the OP needs to gather, is that your starter depends on 1.) the expected OG of your brew and 2.) the batch size of your brew.

With that in mind, you then need to decide how many yeast cells are needed at the start of fermentation, then decide the gravity (I use 1.035) and starter size that will provide you with the necessary number of cells.

I use Jamil's yeast pitching calculator for this. http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

The larger the reccomended starter size, the more DME you'll have to use to reach the starter OG you've chosen.

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