Starter size
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FlyGuy
Well-Known Member
The starter size depends on the strength of the brew. A 3 - 4 litre starter is common for lagers. See the yeast pitching rate calculator at MrMalty.com for more advice.
You want a starter with about 1.030 - 1.040 gravity to produce the healthiest yeast. A ratio of about 10 ml of DME for every 100 ml of water works well to get in this range.
When you ferment the starter, run it at room temperature. You don't care about off flavours in the starter beer, especially if you crash cool it and decant the beer off the yeast (recommended). There is some debate about whether to cool the wort to fermentation temps before or after pitching the yeast, but I think most agree to suppress off flavours, like diacetyl, then pitching to cooled wort is best.
Cheers!
You want a starter with about 1.030 - 1.040 gravity to produce the healthiest yeast. A ratio of about 10 ml of DME for every 100 ml of water works well to get in this range.
When you ferment the starter, run it at room temperature. You don't care about off flavours in the starter beer, especially if you crash cool it and decant the beer off the yeast (recommended). There is some debate about whether to cool the wort to fermentation temps before or after pitching the yeast, but I think most agree to suppress off flavours, like diacetyl, then pitching to cooled wort is best.
Cheers!
uuurang
Well-Known Member
I tried using 6oz DME by weight to 2 qts H2O in 2 liter erlenmeyer per Jamil Z. Took a gravity reading towards the end of 15 min. boil, resulting in, IIRC 1.050. Too high for a starter so added more water incrementally till it was back down to 1.040.
Next time will try 4oz to same H2O. Maybe that will get it in the right neighborhood.
Could also be my scale is off. POS plastic walfart crap, ya know.
Next time will try 4oz to same H2O. Maybe that will get it in the right neighborhood.
Could also be my scale is off. POS plastic walfart crap, ya know.
Do you put an airlock on the starter? If you're supposed to shake every few hours to oxygenate, you would need it open to get air.
If I'm going to let it completely ferment out so I can decant the wort, wouldn't you want it sealed with an airlock?
If I'm going to let it completely ferment out so I can decant the wort, wouldn't you want it sealed with an airlock?
The breathable foam stoppers work great for starters. They allow CO2 out and O2 in without contamination worries. You can swirl the flask or better yet, use it with a stirplate. I can't get away with any more than about 1.4l in a 2l flask or the krausen blows out the stopper.
FG, I believe that should be 10 gm DME per 100 ml water.
FG, I believe that should be 10 gm DME per 100 ml water.
FlyGuy
Well-Known Member
gfranks7807
Active Member
Cos,
Creating a starting is VERY easy... I use a 10 ml of water to 1 gm of DME. I usally make a 2 liter starter so I use 2 liters of water and 200 gm of DME. I also use a sponge stopper. For Lagers.... Plan on making your starter 2x the size of a typical ale. The calculator below allows you to select your beer type.
This is a link to the best starter calculator on the net: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Also this link provides a step-by-step method to create a starter: http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Gary
Creating a starting is VERY easy... I use a 10 ml of water to 1 gm of DME. I usally make a 2 liter starter so I use 2 liters of water and 200 gm of DME. I also use a sponge stopper. For Lagers.... Plan on making your starter 2x the size of a typical ale. The calculator below allows you to select your beer type.
This is a link to the best starter calculator on the net: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Also this link provides a step-by-step method to create a starter: http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.htm
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Gary
