Liquid yeast first timer

[daggermark]

I'm just doing my ingredients shop for my next 2-3 brews, 1 of which will be a NEIPA. I normally use M44 or S05 dry yeast and have tended to brew mainly west coast IPAs.

It seems that a lot of people recommend Wyeast 1318 liquid yeast for NEIPA, which I can easily get hold of. I've heard a lot about 'yeast starters' but it seems from reading the instructions on Wyeast that you can just pitch it straight into your wort? Anyone who can vouch for this?

Also, I'd prefer to brew 2-3 smaller batches first whilst I dial in the flavours, maybe over a period of a month. Is there any way I can store part of the pack so it remains viable for a few weeks? The packs seem to be enough for 5 gallons but I'll probably do 1-2 gallon tests.

 

[tgolanos]

I always make a starter with my liquid yeasts (I have never used Wyeast, only White Labs). The biggest advantage with using a starter is to let you know the yeast is healthy and viable - you never know how it was handled before you go hold of it. Starters are also useful if the yeast is close to its best-before date.

I wouldn't recommend only using part of a pack of liquid yeast. Once it's opened, you risk contaminating it. Make a 1L starter and only pitch half into your wort. You can safely store the remaining starter in your fridge.

 

[daggermark]

Does it matter which malt extract I use for the starter, or should I roughly match it to the final beer?

 

[IslandLizard]

Does it matter which malt extract I use for the starter, or should I roughly match it to the final beer?

Using Pilsen Light or Golden Light DME is most common. Or wort from an all grain batch.

You could use a darker DME if that's the only thing you have on hand, but it's not as efficient as it contains other ingredients. If you do that, be careful not to dump 1.5 to 2 liters of dark starter into a 5 gallon batch of light wort. If you cold crash and decant before pitching, I doubt you could trace it.

No, they don't need to match. But refer to what I wrote above.

Use a yeast calculator and read up on making starters, especially newer threads and posts. For example do not heat a glass flask directly on a stove, it can crack and make a huge mess. Be sensible, use a stainless pot, with a well fitting lid, so nothing can get in while chilling after the boil is done. In a pinch, use sanitized aluminum foil to make a tight fitting cover. Stainless also chills faster, since glass is not the best conductor.

BrewUnited's Yeast Calculator
My favorite for day to day starters

Mr. Malty
The "pitch from slurry" tab is unique and very useful, also for a better understanding of estimating viable yeast cells in a saved slurry.
It does use Flash, but it's safe to use when invoking that URL or through that link. You may need to edit your site settings in your browser to allow access.

 

[tgolanos]

Does it matter which malt extract I use for the starter, or should I roughly match it to the final beer?

I prefer to match, but that's just me. I don't go out of my way to match if I can't, though. As IslandLizard mentioned above, Light or Pilsen (sometimes you may even find Extra Light) work the best. I've used Amber with decent results, as well.

My general "recipe" for yeast starters is 120g of dry extract or 150ml of liquid extract per 1L of starter. Seems to get me decent results if I don't feel like going through the calculators.

 

[IslandLizard]

My general "recipe" for yeast starters is 120g of dry extract or 150ml of liquid extract per 1L of starter. Seems to get me decent results if I don't feel like going through the calculators.

That's a little high actually.

Using DME to water in a 1:10 ratio is preferred. It will make 1.037-1.040 wort, ideal for most regular starters.*
100 gram DME per 1000 ml (= 1000 g = 1 liter) water. You may need to add a tad extra if you happen to boil off a little more. It's not that critical.

* Step starters to propagate from small cultures can be different, such as 1.010 => 1.020 => 1.040.

 

[IslandLizard]

The biggest advantage with using a starter is to let you know the yeast is healthy and viable - you never know how it was handled before you go hold of it. Starters are also useful if the yeast is close to its best-before date.

That! ^
You can also "overbuild" your starter, making a bit more than you need. Then save that extra out to make a next starter from, and so on...

I wouldn't recommend only using part of a pack of liquid yeast. Once it's opened, you risk contaminating it. Make a 1L starter and only pitch half into your wort. You can safely store the remaining starter in your fridge.

That's solid advice!
Although you could tape up the cut corner, and put it back in the fridge, you're much better off making a starter from it all. Then save some out for next time. I store most of my crashed and decanted slurries in 4 and 8 oz mason "Jelly" jars.

 

[IslandLizard]

I recommend using a 2 liter flask and a stir plate. You can build a stir plate yourself too. Look around for ideas.

In a pinch, or in lieu of a stir plate, use a 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon glass jug. Clear ones are best as you can see what's going on. What happens in a brown growler always remains a mystery.

Especially when not using a stir plate, look into "shaken-not-stirred" starters. Use a gallon jug as you need plenty of space to shake and create foam.

 

[daggermark]

Thanks everyone for the advice, appreciate it. I'll order some DME and a couple of flasks and see how I get on.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'll order some DME and a couple of flasks and see how I get on.

Get a (small) bottle of Fermcap-S too (~ $5). One drop per gallon (or fraction thereof) [EDIT] in the boil prevents a lot of unwanted foaming when making starters.
Fermcap is especially useful when not using a stir plate, but doing intermittent swirling on the counter. It will help reduce or prevent overnight blow-offs. Without a stir plate, just countertop swirling, don't fill a 2 liter flask with more than 1.3 liters, if that.

Note:
When you're using the "shaken-not-stirred" starter method, DO NOT USE Fermcap, you want to create as much foam as possible!
Flasks are not useful for that either, you need a well sealing lid, so you can shake it.

 

[daggermark]

One more question that sprung to mind... as I understand it, you create the starter at normal fermentation temperatures e.g. around 20c. Do you pitch the starter when its at high krausen, or after? If it's after, doesn't the yeast settle to the bottom and therefore need 'swirling up' before you pitch it?

If I'm putting the remainder in the fridge for another brew, do I just let it come up to room temperature and then pitch it immediately?

 

[IslandLizard]

One more question that sprung to mind... as I understand it, you create the starter at normal fermentation temperatures e.g. around 20c. Do you pitch the starter when its at high krausen, or after? If it's after, doesn't the yeast settle to the bottom and therefore need 'swirling up' before you pitch it?

If I'm putting the remainder in the fridge for another brew, do I just let it come up to room temperature and then pitch it immediately?

I encourage you to do some reading on starters, and signs to look for so you can judge progress. Also on cold crashing, decanting, saving and storing slurries. Remember, excellent sanitation throughout the yeast handling process is paramount!

Although you could pitch a starter at high krausen, we do sometimes, we generally want maximum growth, increasing the cell count as much as possible for a given starter. See BrewUnited's calculator.
On a stir plate, shaker, etc. air (oxygen!) is continually supplied to the yeast culture, to encourage optimal growth, and discourage fermentation and krausen formation. We can't do one without the other, so we get some of both.
Most growth is happening when the yeast culture turns milky, significantly lighter and thicker looking, than when you started out. I usually give it another 12 hours after that color change takes place. But sometimes longer.

Yes, right before you pitch it you need to swirl up the settled yeast cake so all the yeast is suspended. Most of us don't pitch it all, we save some out for another (fresh) starter. Etc.

You can also use part of a (saved) yeast cake from a previous batch, without making a starter. Yeast typically multiplies 4-5x during fermentation. If the saved cake (or slurry) is older than a few weeks, we tend to make a vitality starter, which often gets pitched whole, but some could be saved out again.

 

[daggermark]

I will definitely make some time to read up on this more carefully!