options for making yeast starter?

well I don't have any DME lying around right now, and the only LME I have is the 6lb that i'm supposed to put in my recipie. my LHBS is closed for the week, and the next closest one is a little more than an hour away.... is there anything I can do to avoid driving all over the place tomorrow? I'd really like to not experiment with this too much, as it is my first beer. using wyeast 1056 propagator. I was planning on brewing tomorrow, and am going to still try to (at least get my starter going, I smacked my pack a little while ago too...)

I suppose I could use my LME to make the starter, just concerned messng up the OG and the flavor. I read somewhere that perhaps I could use plain malt ovaltine?

Maybe just borrow a bit from the six pounds you have for the recipe. It wont drop the gravity all that much....

so it was an activator smack pack? in theory, you could just use the smack pack to ferment the 5 gallons and not worry about the starter, but i wouldn't be too concerned about using 100 grams or so of the LME if you do want to do a starter, that's like 1/4 of a pound, which wont affect your gravity all that much. what's your target gravity?

it was the propagator pack, not the activator( with 25, not 200 billion cells) and both the package and this site recommend making a starter of some sort with it. mrmalty recommends a 1liter starter for 5 gal

lookin to get around 1.042-1.046

Dave6187 said:

it was the propagator pack, not the activator( with 25, not 200 billion cells) and both the package and this site recommend making a starter of some sort with it. mrmalty recommends a 1liter starter for 5 gal

lookin to get around 1.042-1.046

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With the propagator pack, a starter is a necessity. Even Wyeast's website will tell you that. From Wyeast's site (Wyeast Laboratories : Home Enthusiasts : Brewers : Technical Information : Pitch Rates)

Propagator Pack:
The Wyeast Propagator (50 ml) should not be directly pitched into 5 gallons. This package is designed to be propagated in a starter culture before inoculating larger volumes of wort. A Propagator contains 30 billion cells. One propagator in ½ gallon starter will deliver 6 million cells per ml.


So, since even the company website tells you not to pitch directly, I'd make a starter. Starting tonight is kind of late, if you're planning on brewing tomorrow, though.

i know, my problem is I have no DME. I'm probably just going to drive 3 hours tomorrow to go buy some just to avoid any headaches... maybe I'll pick up my next recipie kit or something

24 hours should be plenty long for a starter. You can pitch at high krausen. If you made say a 1 qt (1000 mL) starter with the LME, and then put it into the finished wort there would be almost no difference in the gravity. Heck you could even make your boil 1 qt shy if you like and your impact would be pretty much negligeable once you add in the starter that should be fermenting down from OG of about 1.040 or so anyway.

Dave6187 said:

i know, my problem is I have no DME. I'm probably just going to drive 3 hours tomorrow to go buy some just to avoid any headaches... maybe I'll pick up my next recipie kit or something

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No need to drive tomorrow. Just pull out some of your LME tonight and get that starter going. You want a gravity of 1.040-ish, which would be about 1.25 cups of LME in a quart of water.

I always keep a bag of DME handy, even though I haven't made an extract batch in several years. It's for starters. It's also handy, when you do a partial mash, to use to boost the gravity if you don't get very good efficiency from the grain. It will last a long time in your cupboard in a ziploc bag. so, buy it the next time you go to the LHBS and keep it on hand.

Now, go make that starter! And brew tomorrow night if you can.

If you're worried about the gravity drop from using some LME, just add a few ounces of table sugar at the end of the boil. Depending on the style it might be great. But I'm sure it will be great without it too.

I was facing this same issue tonight. I decided, after a little bit of research, to use 2/3 cup LME (from my Kit) and mix it in about 500mL (pre-boiled) water once I got it to boiling. The issue I'm worried about is that I lost a lot of water to steam during the boil. I'm hoping if this causes problems, the worst thing that'll happen is a slightly slow lag time. Does anybody have any pointers? Can anyone help me calculate what the OG should've been from the mix?

DRoyLenz said:

I was facing this same issue tonight. I decided, after a little bit of research, to use 2/3 cup LME (from my Kit) and mix it in about 500mL (pre-boiled) water once I got it to boiling. The issue I'm worried about is that I lost a lot of water to steam during the boil. I'm hoping if this causes problems, the worst thing that'll happen is a slightly slow lag time. Does anybody have any pointers? Can anyone help me calculate what the OG should've been from the mix?

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hmmmm. What is the weight, in pounds, of 2/3 cup LME? Not sure how to calculate OG without weight of extract...

That's a good question. I'll weigh it when I get home from work tonight and report back.

In the future if you need a starter liquid, find the nearest Mexican grocery or even the nearest big box grocery store (like Meijer's) that has an "international foods" aisle and look for Malta Goya



Or Malta India



Quite a few people use it as a starter....It is pretty much just a lightly hopped, carbonated wort. Some people just stir it to release the co2, others bring to a boil and other's just bring it pasturizing temps. ANd then pitch the yeast.

There's a few threads on here about malta goya starters, both here and on other boards (google it)...and we even talked about it in the GAP (Grocery and produce challenge thread)

I believe 2/3's is about 5 oz of dme.

x2 on the Goya. We have it in our supermarkets around here. Works great in a pinch. Just don't drink the stuff If this is your first beer, don't sweat the gravities. Any final gravity change would be negligible. Learning the overall process will be far more important.

If your LME is in a can and you use some for the starter, just put some saran wrap on top of the opened can and keep the remaining extract in the fridge until it's almost time to brew. Then take it out to warm up. I've kept LME in the fridge for a month or two that way with no ill effects.

It came in a milkjug (from Midwest Supplies) and I immediately sealed it back up and refrigerated it. I didn't know you had to, but I figured everything keeps longer if you refrigerate it.

THumbs up for malta, although if you're making a light-colored beer, you need to give enough time to settle out the starter and decant it well. That Malta's dark stuff.

I tacked an extra gallon on the batch of blonde ale I brewed the other week. It's currently in my freezer in 1 quart storage containers. Remove, boil to pasteurize, cool, and pitch starter. Easy peasy, and no DME necessary.

Nah, you don't have to refrigerate the milk jugs as long as you're using them in the near future. They reseal easy enough. You probably don't have to refrigerate open cans either but given how flimsy a saran wrap seal is compared to the original can lid (or even screwed on milk jug cap) I just like to make sure nothing is going to get in. It was more a suggestion.

Those milk jugs make handy starter containers for future batches, by the way.

hal2814 said:

Those milk jugs make handy starter containers for future batches, by the way.

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Good call, I'll definitely keep that in mind! I'll make sure to rinse and save it until I can get myself a nice Erlenmeyer Flask or something.

Pitch the entire starter with wort and your gravity will be identical. IBU's might vary a minuscule amount, but nothing to worry about.