Critique my Yeast Starter Procedures.....

So I made a yeast starter just a few minutes ago with the folowing materiels.

white labs trappist yeast
small pot
nalgeene bottle
large plastic stirrer
4 cups water
lots of love

I started by sanitizing everything in easy clean-pot, nalgeene bottle, stirrer, and measuring cup.

Next, I boiled 4 cups of water then added 1/2 cup of DMExtract. I kept it on high heat for about 3 minutes then took it off the stove steaming.

Next, I grabbed a few ice packs from the freezer, sanitized those then lined them along the pot's edges in a clean sink. The temp started @ approx 180 degrees then cooled down to about 85 degrees within 20 minutes.

Next, I added the trappist yeast with a stir then poured it into the sanitized nalgeene bottle with about 1-2 inches below the top. A sanitized foil strip seals the top.

Any no nos or point that might jeopardize the starter?

I would have used twice the amount of DME (1 cup DME for 4 cups water)

I also boil for 10 minutes

Ideally, you need to boil the wort for 10 - 15 minutes, but I think you'll be fine.

I'm not sure what the OG of that starter will be but I am thinking around 1.020, perhaps someone can verify. That's the minimum gravity for a starter in most cases, a starter of 1.040 may have been more ideal, but it's nothing to panic about, the yeast are going to be happy and healthy

If you have a scale, the easiest way to do it is 1g DME per 10ml water.

If you don't have a scale, you should consider getting one. I use mine a lot for cooking and brewing.

Eric

What if the starter appears deluted due to a low dose of DME? Will the starter still perform for the larger wort?

homeslice said:

What if the starter appears deluted due to a low dose of DME? Will the starter still perform for the larger wort?

Click to expand...

It depends on what kind of beer your making. If this is a high gravity beligian strong ale then your probably under pitching and should make a second starter that is larger. For further reference use the yeast calulator on mrmalty.com

maida7 said:

It depends on what kind of beer your making. If this is a high gravity beligian strong ale then your probably under pitching and should make a second starter that is larger. For further reference use the yeast calulator on mrmalty.com

Click to expand...

Larger as in more wort? Well.... I applied 1/2 dry cup of DME to 2 pints of wort as instructed by Seven Bridges.

The brew store is an hour away to pick up another beer yeast veil. Since this is my second time trying a extract brew, I'm not expecting an amazing dubbel but hoping for something to celebrate the holidays with. Is it worth using the starter or should I dump it and get another???

homeslice said:

Larger as in more wort? Well.... I applied 1/2 dry cup of DME to 2 pints of wort as instructed by Seven Bridges.

The brew store is an hour away to pick up another beer yeast veil. Since this is my second time trying a extract brew, I'm not expecting an amazing dubbel but hoping for something to celebrate the holidays with. Is it worth using the starter or should I dump it and get another???

Click to expand...

You dont need another pack of yeast. You can step up the one you have now, boil a higher concentration of DME with water, cool it down and add it to the original. Also I wouldnt DEPEND on having this beer for the holidays. It may be a bit soon.

homeslice said:

Larger as in more wort? Well.... I applied 1/2 dry cup of DME to 2 pints of wort as instructed by Seven Bridges.

The brew store is an hour away to pick up another beer yeast veil. Since this is my second time trying a extract brew, I'm not expecting an amazing dubbel but hoping for something to celebrate the holidays with. Is it worth using the starter or should I dump it and get another???

Click to expand...

I am a noob my self so take it for what it's worth but I would not throw out the starter. If it were me and I had some extra DME on hand I think would let the starter get to working and then carefully boil up 1 cup of DME in one pint of water and add it to the starter. I think that would get you close to where you want to be. Hope this helps.

homeslice said:

Larger as in more wort? Well.... I applied 1/2 dry cup of DME to 2 pints of wort as instructed by Seven Bridges.

The brew store is an hour away to pick up another beer yeast veil. Since this is my second time trying a extract brew, I'm not expecting an amazing dubbel but hoping for something to celebrate the holidays with. Is it worth using the starter or should I dump it and get another???

Click to expand...

First and most importantly, Don't worry, relax and have a homebrew.

Second, your starter will probably be just fine as is. But lets figure out what the ideal starter would be for this batch. What is the projected starting gravity for this batch? What is the batch size? 5 gal? What was the date on the vial of yeast?

The most common way I've seen is 1/3 cup DME to a quart (4 cups) of water boiled for 15 minutes.

Also did the yeast say to pitch at 85 degrees? It seems super high to me. I have made a lot of beer and I don't think I have ever pitched my yeast into my starter over 70 degrees plus or minus a degree or two. I wonder if it doesn't call for that temp if it could have some adverse effect on the final taste.

Not saying it's wrong, I just have never seen or heard it pitched that high before. The optimum temps on that yeast say 65-72 degrees. So if you do have a problem that may be it.

My rule is, for the DME, use a quarter of the volume of water you have. So if you have 4 cups of water, I use 1 cup of DME, that gives you roughly a gravity of 1.040, which is ideal for a starter.

What I would do if I were you (if you have time before brew day) is to put the starter in the refrigerator for a day or so to get the yeast to fall out of solution. Decant off as much of the wort as possible (don't be picky about this, just get most of it off). Make yourself another starter (the right size according to Mr. Malty) and just throw your yeast cake in there.

There is no reason to buy any more yeast, you can use the yeast you have.

maida7 said:

First and most importantly, Don't worry, relax and have a homebrew.

Second, your starter will probably be just fine as is. But lets figure out what the ideal starter would be for this batch. What is the projected starting gravity for this batch? What is the batch size? 5 gal? What was the date on the vial of yeast?

Click to expand...

The Brew gravity is between 1.060-1.070. I brewed approx. 4 Gallons w/ a gravity of 1.080. I added the starter with not additional DME. Since over night the gas valve has been popping so I assume the starter's working well.