Check Me On My Directions

I am going to do my first yeast starter tomorrow in preparation for my brew on Saturday. I just want to make sure that I have everything down.

Boil 6 cups of water in a small pot, remove from flame, stir in 1 cup of Munton & Fison Light Dry Malt Extract. When fully dissolved, move the pot back to the flame. Soak the 2000ml flask in StarSan solution during the starter wort boil. Boil starter wort for 15 min total, stirring regularly so that the DME does not scorch. During the last minute of the boil, add a 1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrient (Diammonium Phosphate) to the pot. Cool the wort by placing it into an ice bath in kitchen sink (be sure not to get any ice water into the wort), agitate pot to cool wort faster. When wort is 75*F or below, pour starter wort into flask using a funnel. Pitch White Labs 007 English Ale yeast into flask as well as the stir bar. Then cover the flask with a piece of foil and a rubberband and place on stirplate. Turn on stirplate and wait roughly 12-18 hours. Once kraeusen has been attained, place flask in fridge for a day to allow yeast slurry to settle. On brew day, take flask out of fridge about an hour or two before you begin to make your wort. Decant any beer that formed on top of the yeast layer by carefully pouring it out of the flask. This helps ensure that there will be no off flavors from the yeast starter. Note: when pitching the yeast make sure it's within a couple degrees of the wort as to not shock the yeast.

dgoldb1 said:

I am going to do my first yeast starter tomorrow in preparation for my brew on Saturday. I just want to make sure that I have everything down.

Boil 6 cups of water in a small pot, remove from flame, stir in 1 cup of Munton & Fison Light Dry Malt Extract. When fully dissolved, move the pot back to the flame. Soak the 2000ml flask in StarSan solution during the starter wort boil. Boil starter wort for 15 min total, stirring regularly so that the DME does not scorch. During the last minute of the boil, add a 1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrient (Diammonium Phosphate) to the pot. Cool the wort by placing it into an ice bath in kitchen sink (be sure not to get any ice water into the wort), agitate pot to cool wort faster. When wort is 75*F or below, pour starter wort into flask using a funnel. Pitch White Labs 007 English Ale yeast into flask as well as the stir bar. Then cover the flask with a piece of foil and a rubberband and place on stirplate. Turn on stirplate and wait roughly 12-18 hours. Once kraeusen has been attained, place flask in fridge for a day to allow yeast slurry to settle. On brew day, take flask out of fridge about an hour or two before you begin to make your wort. Decant any beer that formed on top of the yeast layer by carefully pouring it out of the flask. This helps ensure that there will be no off flavors from the yeast starter. Note: when pitching the yeast make sure it's within a couple degrees of the wort as to not shock the yeast.

Click to expand...

Your plan looks ok, but the sign that you are looking for to "prove" your starter is ready could leave you waiting forever. Karusens don't always form on starters, or they happen too fast to notice. especially if you are using a stirplate.

Here's some basic info on starters and what to look for.

Revvy said:

It doesn't matter one blip in your fermenter or your starter flask if the airlock bubbles or not (if you are using an airlock and not tinfoil if you are using tinfoil, you aren't getting bibbling anyway,) or if you see a krauzen. In fact starter fermentation are some of the fastest or slowest but most importantly, the most boring fermentations out there. Usually it's done withing a few hours of yeast pitch...usually overnight when we are sleeping, and the starter looks like nothing ever happened...except for the little band at the bottom. Or it can take awhile...but either way there's often no "activity" whatsoever....

I usually run my stirplate for the first 24 hours, then shut it down, if you are spinning your starter it is really hard to get a krausen to form anyway, since it's all spinning, and there's often a head of foam on it from the movement.


All that really matters is that creamy band o yeast at the bottom.

This is a chilled sample so it's flocculated, but even with an unchilled sample you should see a band of yeast at the bottom. Here's an unchilled version

Same thing, a band.

As it is I've only ever seen two or three krausens actually on my starter (one blew off a bunch of krausen and knocked the tinfoil off the flask,) and the evidence of one on the flask at the "waterline" once. But I've never not had a starter take off.

Look for the yeast at the bottom, don't worry what it looks like on top.

If you have yeast on the bottom....that's all you really need.

Click to expand...

If it looks anything like that, your are ready to either feed it again, or use it.

If you go by the "my starter didn't start" threads you would think that there's a rash of bad yeast, but in reality people are like you looking for a krausen which may have come and gone or never even arrived.

Wait for the sediment layer on the bottom, THEN cold crash if you want.

Also, the choice to decant, or not, is a choice. It's not cut in stone, and the small amount of starter beer really won't cause off flavors in 5 gallons of most beer.

It's really up to you, some decant, or some just swirl it all in. One factor to consider is whether or not the "starter beer," the liguid on top smells sour or not. Often, especially in the summer it may sour in only a few hours. Some folks add a hop pellet as a preservative/preventative measure. The couple of ounces of sour beer wont really affect the taste of your finished product (unless maybe you were brewing an extremely light tasting beer.) It's really up to you.

Another factor is whether or not the yeast is a low flocculating yeast and there may be a lot still in suspension. The "beer" will be cloudy rather than clear-ish. If it's a witbier or hefe yeast for example it might be better just to swirl and pour it all in, you'll get the max number of yeast cells that way.

My starter flask is huge and often I will build up a starter over a few days and end up with 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of "beer" in it. If the yeast has pretty much flocculated I will, if I have time cold crash it like the web pic above, but even if I don't I will carefully pour off all but about 2 cups of the liquid, then swirl the remainder to re-suspend the yeast and dump it in my fermenter.

Thanks for the info. Is the ratio 6 cups of water and 1 cup of DME correct? I'm brewing an IPA, SG: 1.064-1.068, FG: 1.012-1.018, IBUs ≈ 82. Mr Malty says 1 liter is required for my starter which equals 4.2 cups. I was accounting for some boil off so I upped it to 6. Is that too much water? Should I add a bit more DME to account for the 6 cups?

You won't boil off two cups in 15 minutes. That's a 33% evaporation rate.

1000ml water in the flask with 1 cup of DME. Swirl to mix things up, give it a foil hat and throw it on the stove. Boil for 10-15 minutes, then cool in an ice bath. Pitch your yeast, re-cover with foil, and throw it on the stirplate overnight. Either pitch the whole shebang the next day or cold crash it, decant most of the "beer", and pitch the slurry.

When I do my starters I'm more worried about getting the yeast some food and air than I am getting them an exact amount of water and DME. This is just a place for the yeasties to roost and stretch out for the big fight.

Does it matter when I add the DME? Before or after the water boils?

dgoldb1 said:

Does it matter when I add the DME? Before or after the water boils?

Click to expand...

nope. I usually dump everything in cold and bring it up to a boil, that way there is no steam to cause the dme to clump in my measuring cup.

ok, great. So I'll just put my flask directly on the stove then.

If I am going to be brewing Saturday morning, should I begin the starter tonight? If so, how long should it be left on the stir plate and in the fridge? I am planning on cold crashing the starter and then decanting.

dgoldb1 said:

ok, great. So I'll just put my flask directly on the stove then.

If I am going to be brewing Saturday morning, should I begin the starter tonight? If so, how long should it be left on the stir plate and in the fridge? I am planning on cold crashing the starter and then decanting.

Click to expand...

If you're brewing Saturday morning (based on my experience) I'd say you could start your stir plate any time between now and 24 hours prior to pitching. I've done it where I pitched the whole slurry into cooled wort after 24 hours of stirring. That beer was bubbling within six hours. The beer I pitched last night I stirred for 24 hours starting last Friday, then crashed in the fridge on Saturday, then decanted/pitched. That beer was bubbling within 2 hours.

It now smells like a Centennial hop bomb went off in my office.....and I love it.

When I have the opportunity I like to start my starters as early as I can, and build them up. SO I would start tonight.

Sorry if this has been covered before...If I start tonight, what is the process for building up my starter?

On second thoght, I don't think I am going to step up my starter. I'll begin tonight, keep it on the stir plate for 48 hrs. Put it in the fridge for about 15 hrs. Then decant and pitch. Any glaring issues with doing it this way?

dgoldb1 said:

On second thoght, I don't think I am going to step up my starter. I'll begin tonight, keep it on the stir plate for 48 hrs. Put it in the fridge for about 15 hrs. Then decant and pitch. Any glaring issues with doing it this way?

Click to expand...

No issues at all.
In the summer, I find 18 hours is all it takes to make a starter (unless the yeast is really old), but at this time of year, I find it needs a lot longer. (48 hours should be fine.)
With a 1 qt/Liter starter, I never bother with decanting, and I have never noticed off flavors as a result. I do decant larger starters however.
I'm not saying you shouldn't decant, just that I don't think it is necessary.

-a.

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but it is a good practice to boil the stir bar in the flask at the same time. That way you don't contaminate your nice clean starter wort.

Wellshooter said:

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but it is a good practice to boil the stir bar in the flask at the same time. That way you don't contaminate your nice clean starter wort.

Click to expand...

That depends on what the stir bar is made from.
Some stir bars are made from materials that get demagnetized when heated to temperatures above 80C. It doesn't happen instantaneously. The magnetism slowly decreases, until after a year or so (in my case) the stir bar ceases to function.

Other stir bars are made from different materials and can withstand boiling temperatures without any problems.

See http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/t-magnet-university.aspx section 8

-a.

My starter has been on the stir plate for about 12. What type of changes should I notice? It looks the same now as it did 12 hrs ago.

dgoldb1 said:

My starter has been on the stir plate for about 12. What type of changes should I notice? It looks the same now as it did 12 hrs ago.

Click to expand...

Like I said above it is really hard to tell ANYTHING on a stirplate, that's why I tend to turn mine off between 12 and 24 hours. That way I can see if there's any signs of a krausen, but more importantly can see the yeast cake in the bottom of the vessel form like the above picture.

Now as to feeding a starter, which you seem afraid of for some reason, it's simple, you just add more wort to the vessel every day or so. If you have a big enough vessel you don't have to decant or drain off the old starter beer every time, but if your vessel is smaller, then let the yeast flocculate out.

I tend to make my starters in 2 or 4 cup increments, depending on which vessel I am using, how big of a starter and how much time I have. I tend to feed them in 2 cups increments, 2 cups water to 1/2 cup of wort...boiled and chilled.

I do notice you are over thinking this whole thing. Relax this is the simplest thing on the planet to do. Measurements are NOT needing to be exact, despite what many say...you can get this wrong.