Yeast Starter Question

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mr_javi

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I am doing an all extract Wheat. Beersmith calculated I need a 1.75 liter starter with White Labs 029. My LHBS said I could just use some of the 6 lbs of Wheat DME I have for the recipe. Problem is the recipe calls for 6 lbs, and Im using 6 oz in my starter. I will pitch the entire starter. Will this affect my gravities, or final ABV? Should I replace what I used in the starter to get the recipe back up to 6 lbs? Thanks.
 
If you pitch the whole starter, then no you don't need to add extra.

If you were to chill and decant the beer off the yeast cake of the starter, you would need malt for the starter in addition to what you needed for the beer.
 
Ideally you should not consider the DME that you use for the starter as part of your recipe.
So you should top up the main recipe to get back to 6 lbs.

Starters are supposed to be aerobic fermentation which does not produce alcohol. So if you are using a stir plate ( or shaking every now and then), all the sugar in the starter will be consumed to yeast growth.
So obviously it will affect the ABV, and gravity.

But considering you don't have the extra DME, and you are going to pitch the whole starter, ferment the starter at the same temp as you would ferment the final wort, to avoid any off flavors from a higher fermentation temp.
 
Why don't you pitch the yeast directly and provide conditions in the fermenter for yeast growth instead of doing a starter. This doesn't appear to be a recipe that requires a huge starter. Make sure to aerate the wort well before pitching the yeast and it will propagate in the fermenter.
 
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