Let me start out by saying this is my first post. I've been lurking here for a couple of months and I'm sure this is going to be an RDWHAHB moment. I always swore my first post wouldn't be one of those, but here it is. (My first problem is that I don't have any HB that's ready to drink yet!! My first batch is still bottle conditioning/carbonating!)
Working on my second batch of beer and I chose to brew the Hop Head Double IPA kit from Midwest supplies. 9.3LB of LME, what looks to be about 1.5 pounds of specialty grains and 6 ounces of hops (2 oz is for dryhopping..) The recipe calls for a SG in the 1.070-1.074 range and I plan on hitting that
I ordered the Wyeast 1056 packet with this kit. I've never dealt with the liquid yeast, however it was recommended to me at the by two different folks at Midwest Supplies. Both guys said to just pitch it as it comes out of the packet, however the packet says it's good for beers that are less than / equal to 1.06 SG and Mr. Malty said that I should have about a 2L starter with a fresh packet using a stir bar. 2L seems pretty big to me and I've read that Mr Malty can be a little excessive. However, I still wanted a starter to ensure that I had a good amount of healthy yeast that would get fermentation going sooner rather than later, and to ensure that there was enough yeast to get the job done.
So down to it..
This post and my starter were created on Friday evening. Brew day is on Sunday morning.
Made my starter wort - 1L water and 1 Cup DME. Boiled for 20 minutes and lost a good bit of volume, maybe around 300ml. Pitched yeast into the flask, added stir bar, stopper, and airlock. Set it on my homemade stir plate and finally got the bar spinning. Set it and went out to dinner with some friends.
Came back and I discovered this...
The fermentation of the starter wort blew out the stopper and started oozing out kraeusen. (This is about 2-2.5 hours after I pitched the yeast..) I put the stopper back on and now it's coming out through the airlock! I know it's probably not going to make it through the night without another blowout let alone all through the day tomorrow.
Now I understand with beer in the fermenter that blowouts happen and it's usually not a big deal. However, this is the yeast I'm going to be pitching in a day or so and if it's infected it's absolutely no good to me. Would you still roll with this or should I just forget the starter and go get a pack of 1056 from my LHBS tomorrow while I still can?
I made a "test starter" the other day - My first packet of yeast burst during shipping. Midwest Supplies replaced it promptly, however my curiosity got the best of me and I pitched about 1.5 tablespoons of what was left in the packet plus the yeast nutrient into a .75 litre starter wort. After about 48 hours I had lots of what I determined to be good looking yeast, however I didn't want to use it on the off chance it was infected. I did not have a blowout issue like this though!
Advice from all you seasoned brewers is seeked and appreciated!
-Don
Working on my second batch of beer and I chose to brew the Hop Head Double IPA kit from Midwest supplies. 9.3LB of LME, what looks to be about 1.5 pounds of specialty grains and 6 ounces of hops (2 oz is for dryhopping..) The recipe calls for a SG in the 1.070-1.074 range and I plan on hitting that
I ordered the Wyeast 1056 packet with this kit. I've never dealt with the liquid yeast, however it was recommended to me at the by two different folks at Midwest Supplies. Both guys said to just pitch it as it comes out of the packet, however the packet says it's good for beers that are less than / equal to 1.06 SG and Mr. Malty said that I should have about a 2L starter with a fresh packet using a stir bar. 2L seems pretty big to me and I've read that Mr Malty can be a little excessive. However, I still wanted a starter to ensure that I had a good amount of healthy yeast that would get fermentation going sooner rather than later, and to ensure that there was enough yeast to get the job done.
So down to it..
This post and my starter were created on Friday evening. Brew day is on Sunday morning.
Made my starter wort - 1L water and 1 Cup DME. Boiled for 20 minutes and lost a good bit of volume, maybe around 300ml. Pitched yeast into the flask, added stir bar, stopper, and airlock. Set it on my homemade stir plate and finally got the bar spinning. Set it and went out to dinner with some friends.
Came back and I discovered this...
The fermentation of the starter wort blew out the stopper and started oozing out kraeusen. (This is about 2-2.5 hours after I pitched the yeast..) I put the stopper back on and now it's coming out through the airlock! I know it's probably not going to make it through the night without another blowout let alone all through the day tomorrow.
Now I understand with beer in the fermenter that blowouts happen and it's usually not a big deal. However, this is the yeast I'm going to be pitching in a day or so and if it's infected it's absolutely no good to me. Would you still roll with this or should I just forget the starter and go get a pack of 1056 from my LHBS tomorrow while I still can?
I made a "test starter" the other day - My first packet of yeast burst during shipping. Midwest Supplies replaced it promptly, however my curiosity got the best of me and I pitched about 1.5 tablespoons of what was left in the packet plus the yeast nutrient into a .75 litre starter wort. After about 48 hours I had lots of what I determined to be good looking yeast, however I didn't want to use it on the off chance it was infected. I did not have a blowout issue like this though!
Advice from all you seasoned brewers is seeked and appreciated!
-Don