Did i make my starter correctly?

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PAbrewer

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I had a Wyeast smack pack. I took... i think it was 3/4 of a cup of LME, boiled, and cooled it. The smack pack was at room temp. for about 2 days. I pitched the yeast. I didn't have anything i could put an airlock on. I had the starter in a measuring cup and covered it with plastic wrap. Shook it up, it bubbled like hell, then i pitched into the primary at 74 degrees. I have had a long, slow, steady fermentation. Seems like it has been bubbling steady now for 10 days, and started a few hours after pitching. That was the first time i used a starter. This is only my second batch. I just want to make sure the starter was prepared correctly.

Thanks :drunk:
 
How big was your measuring cup? We talking like a quart?


Go to a brewpub and buy a growler. There. Now you have a better container for making starters. The half gallon jugs of apple juice work well too. Just buy yourself a drilled rubber stopper for a buck.

But I suppose clingwrap could work too.
 
I made my first ever starter the other day. The LHBS folks told me 1/2 cup DME and 1 pint of water boiled for 10 minutes. It's bubbling away in the basement and hope to use it today, but that will depend on if I can brew.

For yours, did you use any water with that LME? I'm just thinking that would be pretty thick.
 
fritz_monroe said:
I made my first ever starter the other day. The LHBS folks told me 1/2 cup DME and 1 pint of water boiled for 10 minutes. It's bubbling away in the basement and hope to use it today, but that will depend on if I can brew.

For yours, did you use any water with that LME? I'm just thinking that would be pretty thick.

Yeah, same thing... mine said a 1/2 cup to 3/4 of LME and i think it was a pint of water. I ended up with probably around a cup and a half after boiling.
 
Basically, your trying to make a 1.040 gravity wort to pitch your yeast into.
Here's some different amounts to help out..

1000ml water/3 oz DME

or
1.5qt /4.5 oz DME

or
2 qt/ 6 oz DME

all will produce approx. a 1.040 wort start.
Make sure you cool it down (70-73) before pitching, and then shake it up
to aerate.
 
Well, my starter worked like a charm. I brewed a Wit today, got the wort down to 74 and pitched the starter. Now, 12 hours later, it's bubbling away like mad. Nice to not have to wait 24 hours or more for the yeast to start really doing it's job.
 
You did not say if you let your starter ferment for any time. It needs a couple of days to get going or it is basically just dumping in extra wort.
 

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