how many are decanting starter wort?

i'm curious to get some opinions on whether or not to crash cool and decant starter wort before pitching the yeast.

how long is it taking for your starters to flocc out to an acceptable level so you can decant and pitch?

what is an acceptable level of flocculation for pitching? isn't there some benefit to letting those less flocculant yeast settle before pitching if you are decanting? seems like the yeast i've harvested has taken at least a week to fully clear. not that i mind making the starter a week ahead of time, but sometimes the urge to brew just pops up.

isn't there some benefit from pitching an active starter vs. a crash cooled and decanted one?

is there a cutoff volume where you would feel comfortable pitching the whole starter without any ill effect? is it mostly for lagers and high gravity ales that you go through the extra effort to decant?

maybe i'm over thinking this, but i've just been curious about what everyone else does.

I'm curious as well. I let it chill for at least 2 days and then decant. I've always thought that adding a 1 or 2 liter starter to a 5 gal batch would be noticable.

I make 2 liter starters, chill 2 days and decant the liquid off. My fermentations always start within 6 hours, sometimes less and the beers come out very nice.

With these starters, after decanting do you just pour it in the wort or do you stir it in?
I read that your mist active fermentation is within the first 24hours and that's when you should add your starter, but I have no idea.

Cheers

billc68 said:

With these starters, after decanting do you just pour it in the wort or do you stir it in?
I read that your mist active fermentation is within the first 24hours and that's when you should add your starter, but I have no idea.

Cheers

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It's not necessary to add an active starter if you make a big enough starter.

When I'm racking my wort over to my fermenter after chilling, I rack a half liter or so into the flask with the slurry. Sometimes the slurry is pretty stuck to the bottom, so I do that so I can shake it up and get all of the slurry to pour into the fermenter.

My starters are made 24 -48 hrs. ahead of brewing. I do not decant I use the entire starter in my wort and have not had difficulty with any batch starting and fermenting well.

1 use 1qt. water, 1/2 cup DME, a pinch of yeast nutrient and then boil for 15 minutes, cool to 70F. and pitch my yeast.

Salute!

I decant most of the liquid. As for stirring, I think the yeast find their way around and distribute themselves fine.

I always let it chill for 2 days and decant the starter...but I use a stir plate and my starter wort is very oxidized by the constant airation...I don't want any of that oxidized wort in my beer.

If you have the time, I think it is best to cold crash it for a few days, decant most of the starter wort and pitch the slurry.

I decant most of the liquid portion after letting it chill for a few days.

I chill and decant my starters. This is usually because I have a rough idea when I can brew but not an exact date so hitting high krausen at pitching time is tough, thats why I make my starter early and let it chill til I am brewing. So far this is working well for me and my beers!

bguzz said:

I always let it chill for 2 days and decant the starter...but I use a stir plate and my starter wort is very oxidized by the constant airation...I don't want any of that oxidized wort in my beer.

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You are pouring the yeast into oxygenated wort so who cares if the starter has O2? It's all consumed by the yeast during their reproductive phase.

Ichthy said:

You are pouring the yeast into oxygenated wort so who cares if the starter has O2? It's all consumed by the yeast during their reproductive phase.

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Oxygen is consumed by yeast...not oxidation. Oxidation is not the same thing as the presence of oxygen. It is a chemical reaction that occurs. Once its oxidized it can taste bad, sherry etc. Yeast cant fix this.

I have gone back and forth between pitching my starters at room temp or chilled. Always on the stirplate for a minimum of 24 hours then it is has been a questions as to whether I chill or pitch at room temp (I don't decant). Often there is no room in the fridge for a 2000ml flask therefor I pitch at room temp.

I saw the thread last week about chilling the starter and the purported advantages so I chilled my starter prior to pitching when I brewed this weekend (about 6 hours in a cold fridge).

The fermentation on the batch that I brewed (Fri).) took a much longer time to get going than it does when I pitch at room temp. I didn't see any real activity until the middle of the following day. However once the fermentation started it was much smoother and not as violent as is often the case when I pitch at room temp. Krausen increased gradually and there was really no danger of a blow off.

Some 4 days later the fermentation is still chugging away nicely and I am anticipating a nice batch of APA in a few weeks. I am sold on chilling prior to pitching - I will try decanting to see how that works. Montanaandy

Not anymore.

bmckee56 said:

My starters are made 24 -48 hrs. ahead of brewing. I do not decant I use the entire starter in my wort and have not had difficulty with any batch starting and fermenting well.

1 use 1qt. water, 1/2 cup DME, a pinch of yeast nutrient and then boil for 15 minutes, cool to 70F. and pitch my yeast.

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+1 for 1L starters. Usually decant anything bigger than that.