lazyguitarist
Member
I've only been brewing for 9 months, but here's a problem I bet some of the more experienced brewers haven't heard of. Or maybe you have. Here goes...
I've been fermenting a high gravity brew that has been in the carboy for a few months, 5 gal. batch. Fermentation was so aggressive in the beginning that I lost almost half a gallon during the process. I bottled it this week using the standard 5oz. packet of priming sugar, but I took out half an ounce to avoid over-carbonation. I lost 10% of the brew to the beer gods, so I figured I'd take out 10% of the priming sugar to avoid bombs.
That's not the problem. This is...
My next brew is going to be an imperial stout, target OG of 1.080. I made a yeast starter on Tuesday with the intention of brewing tomorrow (Friday). I used the standard 1/2 cup DME to 2 cups water ratio. I hung onto that extra half ounce of unused priming sugar, thinking that if I boiled it with the rest of the DME, it'd help the yeast get going.
Here I am, 2 days later, wondering if that was a dumb idea. I looked it up, and sure enough, using corn sugar in a starter is a BAD idea. There's a nice little yeast cake in the bottom of my beaker, but it seems like it should be bigger. My question is, "Is my yeast starter ruined?" I only used 0.5 oz corn sugar to 4 oz DME in the starter wort. With 8 times as much "good stuff" in the wort from the bad stuff, is it still going to handle the high gravity brew I make tomorrow?
I understand now that corn sugar is meant to be used ONLY at the end of the brew process, kind of like dessert is for the end of a meal. Metaphorically speaking, this is kind of like having a cookie with your appetizer. Just one cookie, and you'll still be hungry for the main course. At least, if I was a yeastie, that's what I'd be thinking.
So...bottom line...can I still use this yeast starter tomorrow, or will I need to hop over to the brew shop and pick up some dry yeast instead? Thanks for reading!
I've been fermenting a high gravity brew that has been in the carboy for a few months, 5 gal. batch. Fermentation was so aggressive in the beginning that I lost almost half a gallon during the process. I bottled it this week using the standard 5oz. packet of priming sugar, but I took out half an ounce to avoid over-carbonation. I lost 10% of the brew to the beer gods, so I figured I'd take out 10% of the priming sugar to avoid bombs.
That's not the problem. This is...
My next brew is going to be an imperial stout, target OG of 1.080. I made a yeast starter on Tuesday with the intention of brewing tomorrow (Friday). I used the standard 1/2 cup DME to 2 cups water ratio. I hung onto that extra half ounce of unused priming sugar, thinking that if I boiled it with the rest of the DME, it'd help the yeast get going.
Here I am, 2 days later, wondering if that was a dumb idea. I looked it up, and sure enough, using corn sugar in a starter is a BAD idea. There's a nice little yeast cake in the bottom of my beaker, but it seems like it should be bigger. My question is, "Is my yeast starter ruined?" I only used 0.5 oz corn sugar to 4 oz DME in the starter wort. With 8 times as much "good stuff" in the wort from the bad stuff, is it still going to handle the high gravity brew I make tomorrow?
I understand now that corn sugar is meant to be used ONLY at the end of the brew process, kind of like dessert is for the end of a meal. Metaphorically speaking, this is kind of like having a cookie with your appetizer. Just one cookie, and you'll still be hungry for the main course. At least, if I was a yeastie, that's what I'd be thinking.
So...bottom line...can I still use this yeast starter tomorrow, or will I need to hop over to the brew shop and pick up some dry yeast instead? Thanks for reading!
