Saving a starter

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

muels

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
386
Reaction score
118
Location
Near Joliet
I made a starter 7 days ago. Plans changed and I won't be able to use it for a few weeks. I boiled up some mason jars to sanitize them. My plan was to decant the starter, dump the yeast slurry into jars and top off with the boiled water. I would then use the slurry to make a new 1 step starter in a few weeks.

Original process if it matters:
Made a single 1liter starter with 1056
Split the starter
Made two 1.5 liter starters from that.

Next steps:
Decant both
Store then in jars for a few weeks
Make two new 1 liter starters (11 gal batch)
Make delicious beer with them

Any suggestions to do it different or better?
 
I don't think I would decant to move the starters to new mason jars and store. There could be advantages. But, from my perspective, each time you move a starter to a new container, you increase the risk of contamination. So, I try to minimize moves. I have a starter I did a few weeks ago sitting in the fridge. When I am ready to use it, I will decide whether I need to do a starter or can just pitch. Just one change of containers, instead of two.

I take the same approach to fermentation - I don't use a secondary unless a loooooooooong aging is called for.
 
I'm all for less work! Never left them in the fridge for that long so wasn't sure. I use foam stopper's, that shouldn't be an issue should it?
 
I try to seal off the container is some fashion. I use at least tin foil. Also, I keep my yeast in a fridge downstairs that doesn't get opened all that often, which keeps risk of contamination lower.
 
Going to use that yeast this coming weekend. It's still in the fridge with the foam stoppers on. It's basically 1 month old. I plan on doing a 1-1.5 liter starter for both of the Thursday to get them going for Sunday.

Still should be good to go right?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top