liquid yeast question

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kfgolfer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Messages
128
Reaction score
0
Location
PA
If I use a liquid yeast packet, can I smack it the night before I brew or does it have to be the same day? and if I can the night before, do I store it at room temp or in the fridge?
 
I smacked mine two days before and for the first 24 hours it didn't do anything. I put it in a closet and upped the temp from 68 to 72 degrees and in the next 24 hours, it ballooned up nicely, ready for use.
 
ok, so it's clear I keep it at room temp when smacked...and I can easily do it the night before... Now, is it really necessary to do a starter with this type of yeast? I have known guys who just smack it.. wait a few hours and pitch it.. they get good activity that way... any thoughts??
 
It's preferable to do a starter, but certainly not mandatory. I've done it both ways without any problems. The only eral difference is you tend to get a more vigorous fermentation with a starter bc there are more hungry yeast cells
 
I've done both ways. With and without a starter. Best results are going to come when you make a starter. This will decrease your lag time, and therefore give you better chances for a successful brew. I've found that most smack packs call for a starter on the instructions, but lets be realistic here, you don't always have time.

Good luck!
 
Starters help, but are not necessary. Makes for a faster start on the fermentation, but I've smacked a pack at the LHBS and gone home & brewed without problems.
 
I have a follow up question to this one. Lets say you are making a starter could you just use the 100 grams it takes to make a starter from the Dried malt bag for the recipe? I figure because its going to end up back in the Fermenter anyways?
 
Back
Top