Hops in Starter

I made a starter yesterday using 1 qt. water, 1.5 cups of DME, 1/2 tsp of nutrients, and about 1/3 oz of hops (Saaz pellets). Boiled it 15 minutes and cooled to about 70 degrees before pitching yeast. When I checked about 5 hrs later, there was about a 3" krausen in the growler.

I put hops in the starter in order to make the starter wort more similar to the actual batch, but now I'm worried that there may be taste issues in view of the amount of hop "gunk" in my growler. Does anyone expect this amount to affect the taste of the entire batch? Should I just pitch the hops with the rest of the starter or try to filter it out?

lol... you could put a lock on the growler and end up with some beer! HAH! A starter is generally used to increse yeast cell count - hops isnt really ever put in there I dont think.

Pitch it all in the wort... shouldnt have any odd effects. The hops are just way underuntilized from being boiled in a small amount of water. The hops all settle to the bottom eventually.

I know this is a old thread but has anyone else done this before, did it make any difference in taste?

Mustangj said:

I know this is a old thread but has anyone else done this before, did it make any difference in taste?

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I wouldn't recommend it at all, especially not now with the price of hops. IMO its just a waste of hops since I always decant the beer off my starters anyway...

+1 for that ^^^^^^

But I have to say that most lacto strains canot grow in hopped wort which gives you a little more protection from getting an infection. But the hop shortage trumps that.

Kai

that is what the bible says to do

holy hell... blast from the past!

sirsloop said:

holy hell... blast from the past!

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LOL


Thanks for the info everyone.

If you are making wort for a starter that will be stored for awhile it is a good idea to add some hops. Having said that. I agree with everyone else. Save them for your brews!

I've hopped a starter before b/c I think it reccomends to in Papazian's book, but now with the price of hops it really seems like a waste.

I put 2 pellets in my 2L starter. It will get added to a much bigger volume with way more hops. I doubt anyone could tell if you did or did not use hops in your beer you made from this starter. That being said, it may help to keep the nasties away so I'm using hops in my starters.

Kaiser said:

...But I have to say that most lacto strains canot grow in hopped wort which gives you a little more protection from getting an infection. But the hop shortage trumps that...

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I've heard as well that it's a good idea to add some hops to the starter to help prevent infection.

Something I thought of the other day was using pre-hopped extract kits to make starters (around here they're about the same price as the equivelant weight LME).