Yeast Starter Equipment

I just got my hands on an old lab stir / hot plate so I figured I should get everything together to do up a proper yeast starter.

I'm looking to pick up a flask and stir bar to go with the stir plate. What size flask are you using for your starters? What type of glass is it made of? Have you had any issues going from the stove right into an ice bath?

Any suggestions on where to purchase this stuff online. I could pick it up at Northern Brew but they charge a pretty good premium on this stuff.

Any other suggestions for someone jumping into starters?

Thanks!

Use a 2 liter flask as a 1 liter is too small when it ferments. All labs flasks are borosillicate glass which can be heated on the stove directly. I make up a starter using DME malt and a yeast nutriant or make some wort from grain at 1.040 SG. Note: Put the DME in the flask first and then the cold water so you will not have problems with it sticking to the sides of the flask opening. Stir with something soft like a plastic spoon so as not to break the glass. Propigate 1000 to 1500 ML 1.040 wort and put a piece of sanitized foil on the flask. Boil 15 to 20 minutes (low flame or pooof all over the place) and cool the flask to the desired temp for pitching your yeast. Propagate in a carboy if you need more yeast.

Ref: www.morebeer.com Has good prices.

Scientific Equipment of Houston has good prices on lab glass and stir bars. They have light duty 2L Erlynmeyer flasks for $9.95 and stir bars for cheap too. This is where I got my stir bar from and they even shipped it free. Here's a link to the Erlynmeyers

I use 1000mL erlenmeyer flasks with no problem. Most homebrew places have them for around $10. I use a #8 drilled stopper on mine with an airlock.

Oh and BTW you can also boil your starter wort in the microwave. Just combine the DME, yeast nutrient and water in your flask and put in nuker until it boils. Then give it a stir to make sure all the DME is dissolved and return to microwave and boil for 15 min. I wouldn't recommend microwaving the stir bar though since the magnets are metallic.

Brewsmith said:

I use 1000mL erlenmeyer flasks with no problem. Most homebrew places have them for around $10. I use a #8 drilled stopper on mine with an airlock.

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That's OK for most 5 gallon ales but a "Lager" takes 2 times that amout of yeast and if you do a double batch of ale you need more room in your propagator vessel. You should use sanitized foil instead of an airlock so oxygen can get into the flask.

I thought I would throw up a few pictures of the stir plate. I must say I am fairly excited about this thing. I did a quick test today and turned the hotplate part up to 5 for a few minutes and it definitely gets hot! Hotter than a clothes iron I bet. I wonder if I could keep a starter at ideal temps using it on 1?

That thing is awesome. I am hoping to find one of those on the cheap. You can find something similar on Ebay, but my SWMBO has cut my brew budget short due to home renovations.

For those of you doing 10g batches... what size Erlenmeyer do you use? I have heard that the ideal starter size is 10% of your batch size... so 1g? Obviously if you are doing this you would decant and pitch the cake. Just wondering what is out there and how much head room you need in a starter. I was thinking of doing one for my upcoming batch this weekend.

Thanks for the help

The bigger the flask the better. I have a 2000ml, and wish I had a 4000ml. I do mostly 2000ml starters, but some extra room would be nice to help with boil overs and when I step into lagers. Most people have seen this, but just in case you haven't the pitch rate calculator on http://www.mrmalty.com/ is helpful to size your starter.

pdxhophead said:

Scientific Equipment of Houston has good prices on lab glass and stir bars. They have light duty 2L Erlynmeyer flasks for $9.95 and stir bars for cheap too. This is where I got my stir bar from and they even shipped it free. Here's a link to the Erlynmeyers

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I ordered all of my yeast equipment from them.

I got lucky and sent him a message thru eBay and explained that I had a large amount of equipment I needed to order. He then sent me a coupon code that gave me 50% off and I went to town.

I bought the following for $38.26
2 Flasks, Erlynmeyer, Lighty Duty, 1000ml @ $2.47 = $4.94
1 Flasks, Erlynmeyer, Lighty Duty, 2000ml @ $4.97 = $4.97
2 Flasks, Erlynmeyer, Lighty Duty, 100ml @ $0.62 = $1.24
2 Flasks, Erlynmeyer, Lighty Duty, 250ml @ $0.87 = $1.74
1 Flasks, Erlynmeyer, Lighty Duty, 5000ml @ $12.47 = $12.47
2 Flasks, Erlynmeyer, Lighty Duty, 500ml @ $1.37 = $2.74
1 Thermometer Mercury -20-110C Yellow Back tot imm @ $3.00 = $3.00
1 TEST TUBE RACK PLASTIC For 40 tubes @ $2.81 = $2.81
1 ALCOHOL LAMP / BURNER Flint glass, 120 ml @ $2.78 = $2.78
1 Wicks For Alcohol Lamp Burner, 12/pk @ $1.57 = $1.57

Are those light duty flasks able to handle direct heating on the stove? What about quick temperature changes like going from the stove to an ice bath?

It took me about 3-4 attempts using my 1000 ml erlenmeyer flask and I decided to go with a 1500 ml apple juice container. I boil in a small pot cool and transfer to the glass and put in on Yuri's stir plate. WLP 007 is quite clumpy >>