Yeast Starters

Most sites talk about starters being done in flasks. Is there any reason that I can't take 1/2 pound DME, 1/2 gallon of water and use my brew bucket. I am going to boil the DME/water and sterilize the bucket. I thought that if I did that 2 days before brewing, I could then dump my beer right on top. Also, some say to hop the starter. Should I?

People use flasks for several reasons - they don't have a lot of additional space, so less chance of contamination; they're easy to put on a stir plate; you can see what's going on inside; and it looks very cool. I've not tried this. You'd need to make absolutely sure your wort is down to pitching temperature before you pour it into the bucket to avoid killing the yeast. You'd also need to watch out for infection in your starter.

I'd suggest using some hops in your starter for the preservative properties if you do this.

1/2 lb of DME and 1/2 gal of water is a BIG starter. What style are you brewing? Is it a big beer or more of a 'normal' one? You do run the risk of infection by using your brewing bucket, but you also run the risk by using a flask. Like cullen said, you need to make sure your wort is down to pitching temp. before transfering it ontop of the yeast. Also, it'll throw your OG off by just a little bit.

iron_city_ap said:

1/2 lb of DME and 1/2 gal of water is a BIG starter. What style are you brewing? Is it a big beer or more of a 'normal' one? You do run the risk of infection by using your brewing bucket, but you also run the risk by using a flask. Like cullen said, you need to make sure your wort is down to pitching temp. before transfering it ontop of the yeast. Also, it'll throw your OG off by just a little bit.

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That isn't big at all. That is pretty normal size. 1/2lb of DME is 8 ounces and 1/2 gallon of water is a little under 2 liters. Most people do a 2 liter starter with 6 or 7 ounces of DME. You want your starter to be around 30 to 40 points which is right at 7 ounces for a 2L starter.

A good rule of thumb is 10 to 1. For every 10 milliliters of water use 1 gram of DME. So for a 2 liter starter (which is basically what the OP is asking about) you would add 200 grams of DME to a flask and then fill up the flask with water to the 2000 milliliters mark...or 7 ounces of DME and fill the flask to the 2L mark.

A starter shouldn't change you OG by much at all. That's not something you should worry about too much. Take you reading before pitching like you normally would.

To answer your original question, I wouldn't use your bucket. Way too much head space. Use a growler, jar, pretty much any glass object that holds 2Ls of water and you can cover the top with tin foil.

I've always used the 1/2c DME and 2c water 'recipe' and never had any problems/issues, even in big beers. I know there are a few different schools of thought on how big of a starter to make though. To each their own, but 1/2 & 2 works great for me.

You don't have to use a flask. Any jug or bottle will work if you are not using a stir plate.

Just shake the jug every time you walk by to keep it aerated.

Do you have any growlers around? I just use growlers for my starters, although I do have a flask for BIG starters.

Warning if you go get one: they come prefilled with beer!!!

I use a sun tea pitcher for my starters

I ended up using 2 cups DME and 2 qts water in a 1 gallon glass jug. I have fermax yeast nutrient and I was going to use it in the starter, but forgot. I am brewing today. Should I put it in the batch with my whirlfloc?