Another starter 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.

stratslinger

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
2,609
Reaction score
237
Location
Terryville
I'm planning to brew a wiezenbock on Saturday - the projected OG is around 1.08, and I'll be using a Heffe yeast (forget the exact strains, but I'm assuming they all have a similar growth profile?)...

I'll be heading over to the LHBS after work today to pick up all my ingredients. I should have around 44 hours or so to let the starter go and do its thing, and I do NOT yet have a stir plate. So I plan to pick up 2 vials or smack-packs of the yeast and build a starter (MrMalty suggests 2 vials and just over a 1L starter if I shake it intermittently, which I definitely plan to do).

My question is timing: If I let this starter for for the full 44 hours, will it be at or (more likely) just after high krausen when I pitch it late Saturday afternoon? Or, should it be all fermented out by tomorrow night, allowing me to crash cool overnight and decant/pitch on Saturday?
 
So is the consensus that it'll ferment out in 24 hours or so, allowing me to crash cool Friday night and decant Saturday? Of just leave it alone for the 44 hours or so and pitch the full liter? I'm thinking that I'm not overly concerned with flavor contributions in a 1L starter in a 5 gallon batch, so I'm open to either approach - I just want to be sure I'll not be underpitching.
 
I never crash-cool starters; doing so stuns the yeast and it seems to me that half the point of a starter is getting ACTIVE yeast into the wort. Instead, I just turn off the stir-plate when I start brewing, decant about two thirds of the liquid after the wort is cooled and ready to pitch, and then pitch what's left.
 
So is the consensus that it'll ferment out in 24 hours or so, allowing me to crash cool Friday night and decant Saturday? Of just leave it alone for the 44 hours or so and pitch the full liter? I'm thinking that I'm not overly concerned with flavor contributions in a 1L starter in a 5 gallon batch, so I'm open to either approach - I just want to be sure I'll not be underpitching.

That is what I would do but there are lots of opinions on if you should crash cool and decant or just pitch the whole thing. Just do what feels right to you. I always crash cool because I don't like the idea of all that aerated wort going into my brew, even if it is only 1L.
 
Back
Top