Yeast Starting w/o DME

Hey all,

I want to start making yeast starters for my brews (after 3 years, idiotic I know) and I only have Corn Sugar/ Dextrose - can this work as a replacement to using DME?

I live in Chicago without a car and the only HBS is in West Jesus - reaaalllly wanting to avoid making the trip for something so small.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

i would think that you would need some nutrient or energizer in there as well as the corn sugar.

I just successfully used a half cup of LME from my kit.

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that yeast can rapidly lose their ability to ferment maltose if they only have simple sugars to work with. I haven't done any experiment to verify this though.

EamusCatuli said:

Any suggestions?

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Sugar/dex is not a good option for a starter.

Could you save some of the wort from your next batch of beer and use that?

Wolfy said:

Sugar/dex is not a good option for a starter.

Could you save some of the wort from your next batch of beer and use that?

Click to expand...

DME is your best bet... It will work with other sugars but not as efficiently... introducing a whole new sugar chain to what they have been used to building on... can cause a bit of "shock" to strain you started... Best to stay in same sugar family.

what about using apple juice as a starter? or would this put an off taste in the yeast?

You waited 3 years to make a starter, why not just wait until you can get the DME?

As Wolfy stated, use extra wort from a previous batch. Also, you could easily mash 1/2lb grain on the stovetop to obtain a couple quarts of starter wort.

You can make a starter with LME if you have it. You just need to convert for the difference in strength between LME and DME.
This thread explains the conversion:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/lme-dme-conversion-174602/

Go to a Hispanic or Asian grocery store in Chicago, I know there are at least 700 of them. Look for Maltose products. They are pennies on the dollar compared to DME/LME.

A popular soda drink called "Malta" can also be found at most Hispanic markets. They do have corn syrup, but the first ingredient behind "water" is malt, and would probably make a decent starter as well. It tastes like yeast starter to me.... :cross:


This pic is from a local guy here that recently put together this 2.5 gallon batch for $4. He grew the hops. The malt bottles are 17.5 oz each.

Are you making starters for dry? Don't you find it easier to pitch multiple packages? Though I guess you could use it to check if the Notty's being naughty.