Yeast Starter - 1st Time this Past Weekend

I did a yeast started this past weekend for the first time. I brought 2 cups of water to a boil, added 1/2 cup light DME, boiled for 10 minutes, gave an ice bath, added my yeast and let it grow. It seemed to work really well and was very simple to do. I do not have a stir plate yet, but my brother just ordered me one from stirstarters.com so I will have that for next time.

I know that my questions have probably been answered before, and I have perused the forum searching for similar posts. I will continue to do so after I submit this post.

So here are my questions:

1. I noticed that I had about the same amount of lag time before a bubbling air lock as I did before. Is that expected? (Know, however, that once my beer started gurgling it was by far the most aggressive fermentation I have ever seen)

2. My method produced about 400~500ml of starter for a 5 gallon batch. Is this a good amount, or is more better? I see a lot of posts about 1 liter starters. I will do some reading on this.

3. Can starters be done for all yeast types (i.e. dry packs, wyeast slap packs, white labs)? My understanding is that the point of the starter is to increase cell count ... and I would assume that it would be good to do for all yeast sources.

4. Is there any advice you have to a beginner?

Thanks for your time and advice!

1. Depends on many factors but it's not unusual. You should see signs of active fermentation within 24hrs for ales when pitching the proper amount of healthy yeast.
2. Use a calculator like this one to find out.
3. yes although you don't need to for dry yeast. See the calculator link in 2. above.
4. it's always better to over pitch than under pitch. If you follow the recomended pitching rates the calculator gives you, you won't be dissapointed. Be sure you have a flat bottomed vessel for your starter when you use your stir plate. A concave bottom like a growler will cause the stir bar to fall off center and stop spinning.

1. In my 20 batch (brief) experience, lag time is a tad random. But in a carboy with less head space it seemed qhucker...leads me to believe there's some pressure build up time issue...not to worry
2. A case of "size doesn't matter"...my reading indicates it's the amount of yeast that matters. SOme people even decant the "beer" on the started. I read recently that for 5 gallons you want about 1 cup of the nice cream-colored yeast layer. There's also some science you can study to caluculate hame many billions of cells you need...I prefer "1 cup"...don't actually measure though, no sense risking infection.
3. yes...all yeast types.
4. The best tip I've read recently is to combine growing starters with harvesting yeast. In other words, take new yeast, grow a huge started, wash the results, pitch some and save some in the fridge.
you should read this https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/ and lots of other posts.
Good luck.

Martin30R said:

I did a yeast started this past weekend for the first time. I brought 2 cups of water to a boil, added 1/2 cup light DME, boiled for 10 minutes, gave an ice bath, added my yeast and let it grow. It seemed to work really well and was very simple to do. I do not have a stir plate yet, but my brother just ordered me one from stirstarters.com so I will have that for next time.

I know that my questions have probably been answered before, and I have perused the forum searching for similar posts. I will continue to do so after I submit this post.

So here are my questions:

1. I noticed that I had about the same amount of lag time before a bubbling air lock as I did before. Is that expected? (Know, however, that once my beer started gurgling it was by far the most aggressive fermentation I have ever seen)

Click to expand...

I find the amount of lag time to be very yeast strain specific, and can be a result of so many factors. It could very well differ based on the amount of dissolved oxygen in the wort, the overall sugar content, the volume of wart, ect...In either case, it doesnt sound like an issue to me

Martin30R said:

2. My method produced about 400~500ml of starter for a 5 gallon batch. Is this a good amount, or is more better? I see a lot of posts about 1 liter starters. I will do some reading on this.

Click to expand...

The volume and cell density of your starters should really be geared to fit the volume of wart you have, as well as the gravity. Theres a pitching rate calculator online (http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html ) which estimates the yeast needed / starter size based on your beer

Martin30R said:

3. Can starters be done for all yeast types (i.e. dry packs, wyeast slap packs, white labs)? My understanding is that the point of the starter is to increase cell count ... and I would assume that it would be good to do for all yeast sources.

Click to expand...

A starter is generally recommended for use with liquid yeasts (wyeast or whitelabs). Now I cant remember the exact details, but it is NOT recommended for use with dry yeasts. The best method for using a dry yeast would be to rehydrate it in warm water (about 40C) for about 15 minutes, then slowing bring the temperature to wort temp and pitch - Make sure to stir the slurry occaisionally throughout the process

Martin30R said:

4. Is there any advice you have to a beginner?

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If you hadnt already mentioned it, I would have suggested you get a stir plate...makes the job much easier and results in a healthier yeast. For what its worth, I tend to make 1L starters, and have never run into any isssues...I believe I use about 1000ml water, 85g DME and a 1/4 tsp nutrient...boil for 15 minutes, cool, then add the yeast... Ill generally let it run on the stir plate for about 15-18hrs - At that rate, its a good "standard" size

Revelator said:

A starter is generally recommended for use with liquid yeasts (wyeast or whitelabs). Now I cant remember the exact details, but it is NOT recommended for use with dry yeasts. The best method for using a dry yeast would be to rehydrate it in warm water (about 40C) for about 15 minutes, then slowing bring the temperature to wort temp and pitch - Make sure to stir the slurry occaisionally throughout the process

Click to expand...

Any reason why NOT with a dry yeast? Just because they're not designed for it?

I cant remember exactly, but it has something to do with the way the yeast are processed/stored. Dry yeast are prepared in a manner which allows them to build up energy reserves, then go into a resting state. Using a starter may actually cause them to prematurely use up their energy reserves, as a dry yeast pack typically contains enough viable yeast to pitch directly. A starter is really used to increase the overall cell count, but when those cells are already available its overkill - Just make sure you rehydrate dry yeast...by not doing so you risk having very low cell viability

But as I said...I cant remember the real details of the explanation - so take this with a grain of salt