To start or not to start....

Im doing my second ag brew tomorrow (Ohio Brewtus' EF clone) and was wondering if it's necessary to do a starter? I've never done one yet, but I now have the stuff to do one. I will be getting my grains and yeast (White Labs 007) this afternoon, and I HAVE to brew tomorrow, will 24 hours be enough time to do a starter in? It's not a big beer 1.060, should I just pitch the vial and not worry about it?

That heavy I would not worry to much

It is nearly always recommended to do a starter.
24 hours is a good time for a starter. You should have maximum reproduction before then and the yeast will be very active at pitching time.

Craig

Ok, one yes one no. There's no problem doing one, I just didn't know if that was enough time for yeastie reproduction.

wildwest450 said:

Ok, one yes one no. There's no problem doing one, I just didn't know if that was enough time for yeastie reproduction.

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As long as the yeast vial/pack isn't too old the starter should get going within 24 hours.

Have you seen the Mr. Malty pitching rate calculator for how big to make your starter?

Make your starter tonight, 24 hours is enough time to get some yeast growth.

Should I make this with light dme, or match the style with traditional dark dme?

Light is fine. I use Xtra light for all my starters, but any DME will do.

One more for yes, do a Starter. 24 Hours is plenty of time. The biggest Lag time I have ever had with a starter was about 3 hours.


As far as DE goes, I also use Extra Light DME for all my Starters.

RLinNH said:

One more for yes, do a Starter. 24 Hours is plenty of time. The biggest Lag time I have ever had with a starter was about 3 hours.

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It's a done deal, I made it last night, and it's bubbling away this morning. There is already sediment on the bottom, so after I brew today I just give it a good swirl and pitch away right?

wildwest450 said:

It's a done deal, I made it last night, and it's bubbling away this morning. There is already sediment on the bottom, so after I brew today I just give it a good swirl and pitch away right?

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That's your best bet at this point. If the starter was large enough or you had enough time it's best to crash cool in your fridge for a day to drop out all the yeast then decant off most of the liquid before swirling and pitching.