Real wort starter: starter gravity/chilling question?

So here is what I am wanting to do. I do 10.5 gallon biab batches. I split into (2) 5.25 gallon batches in my buckets and pitch different yeast to both. I am wanting to try real wort starters but have a few questions.

1. I want to do .5 galllon starters since most of my og's are around 1.062. What is the best way to prep for my rws? I have thought about either pulling 1.25 gallons off of my post boil and dilluting with 1.25 gallons of water to achieve around 1.030 -1.040. I will be adding my starter straight back to my fermenter at high krausen so I really dont want to water my beer down any since I cannot decant. Would it be ok to just snag a 1/2 gallon of 1.062 for my starter? If you do the calculations for a .5 or 1 gallon batch a packet or vial of liquid yeast is way over plenty of yeast cells for the size batch. Although this would be a starter instead of an actual batch the cell stress will be the same either way?

2.Since rws is a new role for me I am also looking to cool a little less. I will still be cooling as quickly as humanly possible but only down to under 140 degrees. I have read that you are same from everything under 140 (dms, added hop bitterness) so please correct me if I am wrong. I will place the chilled wort into my sanitized fermenters, hitting them with a little co2 sealing them up tight and let them chill to room temps over the course of my starter. I should be able to pitch my yeast within 24-48 hours after boil without worry?

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If it were me, I would pull .5 gallon of wort from the boil kettle before any hop additions and dilute with .5 gallon of water. Then you have 1 gallon of half strength wort for your two .5 gal starters with no hops to skunk if you use a clear flask on a stir plate. Then pitch at high krausen or let finish and chill and decant. I call it a lazy starter and its gotten me out of a few yeasty jams.
I recommended cooling the beer to 100 degrees F as fast as you can (some don't chill at all just let sit at room temp) then let cool naturally.

I do this, I will get my desired pre boil volume in my kettle. Then I will take the final runnings out of my mlt usually around 1.030 or so, as I add extra grain for this process. I split it into 2L bags and freeze them. Bust one out boil for 15 min cool, pitch, yeast, voila, starter!


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dannyhawkins said:

If it were me, I would pull .5 gallon of wort from the boil kettle before any hop additions and dilute with .5 gallon of water. Then you have 1 gallon of half strength wort for your two .5 gal starters with no hops to skunk if you use a clear flask on a stir plate. Then pitch at high krausen or let finish and chill and decant. I call it a lazy starter and its gotten me out of a few yeasty jams.
I recommended cooling the beer to 100 degrees F as fast as you can (some don't chill at all just let sit at room temp) then let cool naturally.

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How would adding back the .5 gallon wort and .5 gallon water effect ibu? I am worried I would be aiming for 55 ibu beer and then adding a total gallon of unhopped wort back would change everything. Would I justify by starting 10-15 points higher for the whole batch to correct the loss?

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rorypayne said:

I do this, I will get my desired pre boil volume in my kettle. Then I will take the final runnings out of my mlt usually around 1.030 or so, as I add extra grain for this process. I split it into 2L bags and freeze them. Bust one out boil for 15 min cool, pitch, yeast, voila, starter!


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That is great!

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I run an extra gallon threw my tun at the end of brew day and collect. Usually has a grav around 1.02 then I boil it down till I hit 1.04 and save in the fridge for the next brew. Usually end up with around a half gallon. Good for 2-3 starters for me, but perfict for your one. Putting 1.04 into your 1.06 shouldn't dilute it any noticeable amount

I would not use a hopped wort in a starter. But if I did I would only do it for the exact same recipe. If not the hop flavor in the starter is going to change the profile of the new beer.

I suggest stepping up and making a stir plate. Make smaller starters using unhopped wort and decant before pitching.

The best way to get the "real wort" is to make a small batch of base grains to get 1.035 to 1.040. Or just use some DME. 100 grams to 1 liter ratio.

Terek said:

I run an extra gallon threw my tun at the end of brew day and collect. Usually has a grav around 1.02 then I boil it down till I hit 1.04 and save in the fridge for the next brew. Usually end up with around a half gallon. Good for 2-3 starters for me, but perfict for your one. Putting 1.04 into your 1.06 shouldn't dilute it any noticeable amount

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I guess I could always try to collect my total biab amount (just cut it short to be able to add back that starter amount for total volume) and on the side collect a simple quick one gallon sparge run and boil down on the stove to 1.040

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jcorn said:

How would adding back the .5 gallon wort and .5 gallon water effect ibu? I am worried I would be aiming for 55 ibu beer and then adding a total gallon of unhopped wort back would change everything. Would I justify by starting 10-15 points higher for the whole batch to correct the loss?

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If you let the yeast finish then decant the liquid off, you will not have any problems. My starters are done in 12-18 hours in most cases. You can then throw it in the fridge to drop the yeast and 24 hours later (total) you got yourself some beer brewing.

I didnt know you could decant that fast. I will give that a shot. Might have to decant into my mouth though. Im not good with the whole wasting beer thing

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Also, doesn't chilling the cells to dormancy and trying to bringing them back quickly to room temp put them under alot of stress?