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Kaz

Kaz

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Did my first starter about 48 hours ago and pitched into a fresh batch of Belgian Wit (5 gal.) The reason this was my first starter, my vial of WLP400 expired in Aug. 2010. I just want someone to check my method here. I made a starter wort of 1L water and 1 cup light DME with about 1/8 tsp. yeast nutrient. Boiled all this for about 15 mins, cooled to 65F and poured in my vial. This afternoon about an hour before I pitched it, I had a good 2-3 inches of nice foamy kreusen on top and layer of yeast on the bottom. I didn't pay attention to how much yeast was on the bottom. I also didn't decant the the starter beer off the top, I just swirled and poured. Did I do this right or should I be concerned about not having enough yeast cells since this was an older vial? Just curious...TIA
 
Kaz said:
Did my first starter about 48 hours ago and pitched into a fresh batch of Belgian Wit (5 gal.) The reason this was my first starter, my vial of WLP400 expired in Aug. 2010. I just want someone to check my method here. I made a starter wort of 1L water and 1 cup light DME with about 1/8 tsp. yeast nutrient. Boiled all this for about 15 mins, cooled to 65F and poured in my vial. This afternoon about an hour before I pitched it, I had a good 2-3 inches of nice foamy kreusen on top and layer of yeast on the bottom. I didn't pay attention to how much yeast was on the bottom. I also didn't decant the the starter beer off the top, I just swirled and poured. Did I do this right or should I be concerned about not having enough yeast cells since this was an older vial? Just curious...TIA
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That sounds about right. You should be fine.
 
If you have Krausen you're good. How often did you stir the starter since getting some oxygen into the starter helps more healthy cells develop.
 
I was mostly working right after I made the starter, so it didn't get stirred much...just shook the hell out of it a few times the night I made it. I pitched it into my Wit yesterday evening and had active fermentation going at about 68F this morning, so it must've been good for something. One thing about starters that I find confusing, is the difference in volume. When a recipe says make a 2L starter as opposed to a .5L starter, is this just upping the amount of starter wort and doing one starter, or is it starting with a .5L starter and one vial and re-making it a few times to get to 2L?
 
Don't quote me on this, but I believe the .5L starter is just to get the yeast active, whereas the 2L starter is to get significant growth.
 

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