How to make a yeast starter - Pictorial (updated)

I figured it was time to update the old "how to make a starter" pictorial that has been floating around the forums for some years now.

A higher resolution image of this pictorial can be found here.

Not a forum god, still I feel inclined to respond how about episode nr two, stepping up? Like the style though.

Sulli said:

I figured maybe it was time to update the old "how to make a starter" pictorial that has been floating around the forums for some years now.

Hope this meets approval from the forum gods.

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Nice work!

Thanks for the pictorial. I love the old comics style. As a complete beginner, I appreciate it.

gsanstra said:

how about episode two, stepping up?

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Great idea!

Can you use dry yeast or does it have to be liquid yeast?

lewishowardm3 said:

Can you use dry yeast or does it have to be liquid yeast?

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It is not recommended that you make a starter with dry yeast, just rehydrate it and pitch.

Sulli said:

It is not recommended that you make a starter with dry yeast, just rehydrate it and pitch.

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Cheers. I'm quite new to this as you can tell

lewishowardm3 said:

Cheers. I'm quite new to this as you can tell

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I'm glad you asked. I didn't know either.

Just saved that picture to my computer for future reference. Thanks for it! I too like the comic style!

What did you use to make this? Love the look, the comic book style is very visually appealing.

When in doubt, pinkie out! Nicely done.

mr_bell said:

What did you use to make this? Love the look, the comic book style is very visually appealing.

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Photoshop CS4

scottsaxman said:

When in doubt, pinkie out! Nicely done.

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Yep. That would be my 12 year old daughter helping me out with the photo's.

Great artwork

That is great, not to crap on this thread but any plans to do one like this for how to drink a bottle conditioned home brew? Something like
Wait three weeks+
Chill 24 to 48 hours
pour to a chilled glass, leave 1/2 inch of yeast at the bottom of the bottle
enjoy the handcrafted beer
return the bottle to the brewer.

Well, my starters sometimes take more than 24 hours to ferment out.

Also, can you really boil in an Erlenmeyer flask and then dunk it in ice water without it breaking?

BetterSense said:

Well, my starters sometimes take more than 24 hours to ferment out.

Also, can you really boil in an Erlenmeyer flask and then dunk it in ice water without it breaking?

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Lots pitch at high krausen and don't wait to "ferment out".

Yes, you can boil and then cool in an Erlenmeyer. I usually let mine cool while I get the ice bath prepared so it is not actually boiling, but still plenty hot when it hits the ice water.

BetterSense said:

Well, my starters sometimes take more than 24 hours to ferment out.

Also, can you really boil in an Erlenmeyer flask and then dunk it in ice water without it breaking?

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If your fermenting your starter at 70-75 degrees, the bulk of the growth should be complete within 24 hours.

Yep, you can take an Erlenmeyer flask right off the flames and dunk it in an ice bath, I do it all the time. Although I'll admit, I was a little nervous the first time I did it.

Hey, +1 for the great comic!

It would be really awesome to see more of these, but dealing with different aspects of brewing. Would be the best part of the Sunday comics, IMO.

I'm giving a shot to my first starter next week. I'll have to print this out and tape it to the wall behind my stir plate. Even I can follow those directions! Excellent work.

TheGAC said:

Hey, +1 for the great comic!

It would be really awesome to see more of these, but dealing with different aspects of brewing. Would be the best part of the Sunday comics, IMO.

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Ideas and suggestions welcomed. I'd be happy to take a stab at 'em.

Yep!!!

Nice graphic! I have a question about boiling for five minutes, though. I thought the purpose of boiling was to make sure there isn't any contamination. I know that water only needs to reach a boil to be sanitized because a few seconds at 85°C will kill microbes, so by the time it's at a boil everything is dead. Question time, so is the longer boil time because of the DME added? Is there something that the extra boil does to the wort that makes better for the yeast?
Here's my source for the temps killing pathogens.

Thanks for the pictorial. I do have a couple questions though. I thought I've read that you generally want at least a 1L starter. Does that mean the finished product going into the flask should be 1L? So if I understand it correctly based on the picture, to get a 1L starter I would add 100 grams of DME? I just made a starter tonight and used about 1/2 cup of DME, which came out to around 70 grams. So I guess I only made a 700 ml starter.

Also, what is the point of boiling for 5 minutes? I would assume that it is to sterilize everything, but isn't sterilization temps around 165? I would assume once you reach a boil then it has been above sterilization temps for a good 5-10 minutes already. Or am I off in my temps and times?

edit: sorry, didn't realize the post above mine asked the same question.

+1 on stepping up!

TheGreatReverend said:

Nice graphic! I have a question about boiling for five minutes, though. I thought the purpose of boiling was to make sure there isn't any contamination. I know that water only needs to reach a boil to be sanitized because a few seconds at 85°C will kill microbes, so by the time it's at a boil everything is dead. Question time, so is the longer boil time because of the DME added? Is there something that the extra boil does to the wort that makes better for the yeast?
Here's my source for the temps killing pathogens.

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My only reason for giving 5 minutes on the boil, is that I'm a little OCD.

I read your link, and did a little more digging and, honestly, I would feel okay with a 1 minute boil.

In fact this would be better, because it would help keep the post boil gravity closer to the pre boil gravity.

Thanks for the input, I'll edit the pictorial to reflect this.

cincybrewer said:

Thanks for the pictorial. I do have a couple questions though. I thought I've read that you generally want at least a 1L starter. Does that mean the finished product going into the flask should be 1L? So if I understand it correctly based on the picture, to get a 1L starter I would add 100 grams of DME? I just made a starter tonight and used about 1/2 cup of DME, which came out to around 70 grams. So I guess I only made a 700 ml starter.

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A 1:10 ratio of DME to water will give you about a 1.038 gravity starter.

So 1000ml of water gets 100g DME; but since you are adding the DME to the water, the DME displaces some of the wort so the final volume ends up being more like 1100 or 1200ml, but it's still considered a 1000ml starter because that's the volume of water you started with.

Sorry if I'm not making any sense. I've had a couple.

Sulli said:

Ideas and suggestions welcomed. I'd be happy to take a stab at 'em.

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How about a pictorial on culturing yeast from a brew you want to clone, for instance, a Chimay?
Thanks

Two questions. First, in panel 6 it says ferment at room temp for 24 hours, but the flask is on a warming plate. I've seen other instructions using some type of plate under the flask. Can you please explain this?

Second, a fellow brewer gave me what I would call yeast cake from previous brews; the dregs from the primary I assume. How do you go about making a yeast starter from this? I understand that you can only do this for a limited number of generations, but I believe what he gave me is first generation.

Thanks in advance.

Panel six has a stir plate to help oxygenate the starter and help yeast grow faster. It is not a warmer.

Sulli said:

A 1:10 ratio of DME to water will give you about a 1.038 gravity starter.

So 1000ml of water gets 100g DME; but since you are adding the DME to the water, the DME displaces some of the wort so the final volume ends up being more like 1100 or 1200ml, but it's still considered a 1000ml starter because that's the volume of water you started with.

Sorry if I'm not making any sense. I've had a couple.

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Thanks, that makes sense. I forgot about the fact that adding the DME to the water increases the volume...duh!

In panel 3, you're cooling with the top open. I'd cover it up with foil. I know it slows down the cooling but it also prevents anything from falling inside.

In panel 4, how are you covering the hole while shaking?

Also, since you're putting it on the stir plate, which is to oxygenate, shaking is superfluous.

MC

I've been making starters for a few months now and the one thing this cleared up for me was boil time. I had done 20, 15, 10. So, finally seeing 5 listed is really nice. Well done!

Sulli said:

Ideas and suggestions welcomed. I'd be happy to take a stab at 'em.

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I've been racking my brain, trying to think of one that wouldn't be too incredibly long... how about a comic on racking? Either racking from the brew kettle to the primary, or racking from primary to secondary.

Once again, awesome job! :rockin:

Sulli said:

I figured maybe it was time to update the old "how to make a starter" pictorial that has been floating around the forums for some years now.

Hope this meets the approval of the forum gods.

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Great idea! Very helpful thanks!

Here's an excellent video tutorial on making a yeast starter at the link below.
It's episode #26.

http://www.brewingtv.com/episodes/?currentPage=8

Misplaced_Canuck said:

In panel 3, you're cooling with the top open. I'd cover it up with foil. I know it slows down the cooling but it also prevents anything from falling inside.

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You are correct, it should be covered for chilling. (picture edited to reflect this)

Misplaced_Canuck said:

In panel 4, how are you covering the hole while shaking?

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I have a rubber stopper that fits in the top of the flask.

Misplaced_Canuck said:

Also, since you're putting it on the stir plate, which is to oxygenate, shaking is superfluous.

MC

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I always aerate my wort before pitching yeast, superfluous or not, I like to give the yeast any edge I can. Besides it only takes 30 more seconds out of my day.

That said, the pictorial is for beginning brewers, and most of the time they don't have stir plates.

If your not using a stir plate you definitely need to aerate before pitching yeast.

As someone without a stir plate. What would be the best way to keep the mixture oxygenated while it ferments? Is a stir plate the best way to go, or not really needed?

batsnapper said:

Two questions. First, in panel 6 it says ferment at room temp for 24 hours, but the flask is on a warming plate. I've seen other instructions using some type of plate under the flask. Can you please explain this?

Second, a fellow brewer gave me what I would call yeast cake from previous brews; the dregs from the primary I assume. How do you go about making a yeast starter from this? I understand that you can only do this for a limited number of generations, but I believe what he gave me is first generation.

Thanks in advance.

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Like scottsaxsman said, it's a stir plate. A stir plate also increases the amount of cell growth by a factor of around 2 to 3x.

As for as your "dregs", I would head over to mrmalty.com, and check out the repitching from slurry tab, this will give you an idea of what kind of cell count you are looking at with the slurry your friend gave you.