How big of a Starter can I make with 1 Wyeast Packet?

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Bashiba

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I'm brewing a Saison tomorrow with 3711, I would like to make a huge starter for example 2-Liters, then pitch say 1.5 Liters. Then step up the remaining 1/2 liter back to say 2.5 liters and let it finish out and collect it for future brews.

I'm curious how big can I go off the initial Packet, keep in mind I have a 2-liter or 5-liter Flask and a Stir Plate.
 
why don't you just wash or top crop yeast from primary? That could save you some trouble.
 
If you had more time, you could make as large a starter as you wanted... Cutting it this close, though, you could have some issues. Unless you're going to be pitching the yeast late tomorrow (evening?) I would just make a normal starter and pitch it as you would have. Then just harvest/wash the yeast once the batch is in bottles. You'll have a lot of yeast that way...

If you're concerned about getting the trub out of the mix for washing yeast, use the nylon bags for your hops. I typically use one bag for each timed addition, with no more than 1oz going into each bag.

BTW, I don't have a stir plate yet, so I'm unsure of what impact that will have on the amount of time needed to get the starter to finish. I wouldn't make another starter right away for what remains. I think you'd be better off just storing it in the fridge (let it settle out and store just the yeast, plus some spent wort) until it's time to make the starter for the next batch. That will also let you make a more properly sized starter.

Just my take on this...
 
Lots of starter questions lately.

As far as how big a starter is possible....I suppose that grown is really infinite.

However, starters are supposed to be yeast health first, and yeast growth second. I am just saying, don't sacrifice health in favor of growth, which sounds like a possible outcome from the original post.

The old example is building a house with 10 healthy 20 year olds vs building a house with 40 unhealthy 80 year olds (or something like that).

Joe
 
Its an Activator.

The time frame looks like this, I will make the starter tonight around 9:30 or 10:00 and will pitch it tomorrow night around 8:00 which should put it right at peak activity.

Mr Malty suggests I need about 1.2 liters of starter for my batch.
 
I'm no expert but a liter in a day is definitely attainable.
 
I know 2-liters works fine, in fact thats what Jamil recommends on Mr Malty. I was just thinking about going a little bigger, but that should work fine for my plan, after 5x step of 1/2 liter that will leave me 2.5 liters of yeast that I can save for future brews.
 
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