Lager Yeast Starter Chilling?

[dan46nbrew]

If you are planning on pitching a lager yeast starter chilled to fermenting temperature what is the best way to do this? Ferment the starter at this temp the whole time or ferment the starter at room temp and then chill to fermenting temperature before pitching?

Second question is, if you do keep the starter chilled to fermenting temperature the whole time is the 24-48 hours still recommended before pitching or should you wait longer since the yeast will not reproduce as fast at cooler temps?

Third question. should the yeast packet rest at room temp before putting into the starter wort or also keep it at fermenting temp?

 

[Gus_13]

I make lager starters at room temperature. Typically I do have the yeast out for a non specific time before I pitch it into the starter. I do usually put the starter in the fridge after a few days to get it crashed so I can decant. I usually overbuild my starters and pull some to store for the next beer. But as far as pitching temp of the starter, I will pull the starter from the cold crash during my mash in typically and have it setting at room temp. I then pitch the starter into the chilled wort.
If it's a warm day and I am unable to chill to full Lager fermenting tips, I will pitch the next morning. In that case I pull the starter out for like 30 min or so from the fridge before I pitch it. I'm not as concerned about the starter temps as I am the wort the starter is going in. I guess if there is a wild difference, there could be shock but I haven't experienced this.

 

[friarsmith]

IIRC, most yeast manufacturers recommend that starters should be fermented in the high 60's to low-70's, even with lager strains. I believe the rule of thumb is to minimize the difference between the yeast and wort temp as much as possible whether you're pitching into a starter or full sized batch.

Right before mixing up a starter wort, I usually set the yeast packet (or slurry jar) out on the countertop to take the chill off. It usually takes me ~1 hour for the starter wort to boil and chill to around 70* with an ice water bath. By then, the yeast is somewhere between fridge temp and room temp, but by feel it's closer to room temp usually.

If I have planned ahead, my usual process is to ferment the starter 18-24 hours at room temp on a stir plate, then refrigerate for 1-4 days, then I pull the starter out of the fridge an hour or two before pitching. And decant right before pitching into 50-55* ish wort. Always has worked for me...for 15-20 lagers a year for the past 15 years or so.

 

[dan46nbrew]

Do you want to cold crash the starter ideally at high krausen or just 2 days later?

 

[Gus_13]

Do you want to cold crash the starter ideally at high krausen or just 2 days later?

I crash about 2-3 days after. I don't want to crash it while it's still growing.

 

[jdauria]

I do starters at room temp, crash in fridge for day or two, so that drops it down to 40F. Then I will take out and decant the wort off and let it sit for 30 minutes or so so that it warms up closer to 50F then pitch.

 

[stealthfixr]

I have had a couple lager yeast starters (White Labs WLP833 Bock & Imperial Urkel) that I chilled and decanted before pitching, and the fermentation lag is always a day+ despite being at the recommended starter size via Brewfather. This 'seems' to take longer than if I just pitch the whole starter without chill/decanting.

Does chilling & decanting really worth it, or are my data points not representative? What are your experiences with fermentation start lag and lager yeasts that are or are not chilled?