wherestheyeast
Well-Known Member
I received a 2000ml erlenmeyer flask & stir plate for Christmas and decided to give it a go and make a starter on a two-month old package of Wyeast 3763. Mr. Malty said I only need a 1L starter. I filled the flask to the 1000ml mark with tap water and set it on my gas stove.
As the water was heating I measured out 100 grams of DME and realized I didn't have a funnel. So I used my kids homework as a makeshift funnel and began pouring the dme into the flask. As I was pouring I realized I had no way of stirring the dme to dissolve it. I pulled the "funnel" out to find a bunch of dme had started to clump at the end of it. Now I'm trying to grab something to put the clumped dme in, when the 'funnel' opens up and spills about 20 grams of dme onto my counter, stove, floor & my dog. At this point the starter boils over while I helplessly watch as I knew not to grab the flask barehanded (my only smart move of the night!).
Once I got things under control, I decided to dump the flask, clean & sanitize it again (it was a sticky mess), and start over. This time I made the starter wort in a pot, stirring to dissolve the dme & making sure no boil-over. I found my funnel and poured the wort back to the flask where I then cooled it in an ice bath. Pitched the yeast when the flask felt cool (how to take wort temp in a flask?).
By 11:30p I finally got the flask on the stir plate and turned it on to find it horrible noisy. I spend the next 15 minutes trying to devise a way to quiet it down (towels, boxes, etc.)
So, what are your experiences with using flasks for starters? Do you boil the wort with them? How do you dissolve the dme? How do you prevent the boil-over? Is your stir plate/stir bar combo really loud? Is a one-inch stir bar sufficient for a 2000ml flask?
As the water was heating I measured out 100 grams of DME and realized I didn't have a funnel. So I used my kids homework as a makeshift funnel and began pouring the dme into the flask. As I was pouring I realized I had no way of stirring the dme to dissolve it. I pulled the "funnel" out to find a bunch of dme had started to clump at the end of it. Now I'm trying to grab something to put the clumped dme in, when the 'funnel' opens up and spills about 20 grams of dme onto my counter, stove, floor & my dog. At this point the starter boils over while I helplessly watch as I knew not to grab the flask barehanded (my only smart move of the night!).
Once I got things under control, I decided to dump the flask, clean & sanitize it again (it was a sticky mess), and start over. This time I made the starter wort in a pot, stirring to dissolve the dme & making sure no boil-over. I found my funnel and poured the wort back to the flask where I then cooled it in an ice bath. Pitched the yeast when the flask felt cool (how to take wort temp in a flask?).
By 11:30p I finally got the flask on the stir plate and turned it on to find it horrible noisy. I spend the next 15 minutes trying to devise a way to quiet it down (towels, boxes, etc.)
So, what are your experiences with using flasks for starters? Do you boil the wort with them? How do you dissolve the dme? How do you prevent the boil-over? Is your stir plate/stir bar combo really loud? Is a one-inch stir bar sufficient for a 2000ml flask?