Starter and stir plate questions, a few anyway

[OpenSights]

Thanks in advance!

I found this video from Northernbrewer (14-15 minutes) and thought it was very informative.



In the video he talks about decanting, adding more wort and let the cell count grow for higher gravity beer.

This will be my first starter.

Two questions. Could you just continue decanting multiple times and store extra yeast for later batches, thus buy the yeast once and make a couple of yeast batches to store for next time instead of harvesting?

Second question, and sorry, I know I can’t give specific information, which certainly doesn’t help. I’m planning on making a high gravity 5 gallon barleywine and using WLP099. I have no idea what the OG will be, but it’s going to be BIG. Should I decant and add more DME to up the cell count? WPL099 ferments up to 25%, with additions I’m sure.

Stir plate questions.

I bought a $36 one off Amazon because my LHBS didn’t have one in stock. He doesn’t carry very much equipment, mostly ingredients and supplies. In the description it didn’t say it came with a stir bar so I ordered a set. Tried out my new toy with water and the stir bar that came with it. Pretty cool.

Now the stir bar it came with is all smooth, while the extra stir bars I ordered have a center ring. Would those be better for the glass or doesn’t matter. I know it’s special glass, but to be on the safe side...

When making the starter, should I keep the plate going the entire time until it’s time to pitch or rest to decant?

If just pitching, how do you get the stir bar out so it doesn’t end up in the wort? Or do you just leave it in the bottom flask and leave a tad of the slurry behind?

What should the tornado look like? In just water I could see if you turn it real high it sends bubbles from the bar. Is this too much o2? Should it reach half way down? All the way to the bar? Doesn’t really matter?

This is what I bought off of Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072K24X5P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ISMV5G4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks again!
Cheers!

 

[Deadalus]

The ring around the stir bar makes noise so you know it is spinning.

Use another stir bar or a magnet to pin the one inside to the bottom.

Tornado depends some on the size of the bar and speed. I turn the dial up as far as I can without throwing the bar.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I have read that, even though it is cool to look at, you don’t need a “tornado” in the flask. Just keep it moving. Once the starter becomes more viscous, the vortex will shorten and slow down, it’s okay to bump the speed up a little when that happens.

 

[CodeSection]

Thanks in advance!

I found this video from Northernbrewer (14-15 minutes) and thought it was very informative.



In the video he talks about decanting, adding more wort and let the cell count grow for higher gravity beer.

This will be my first starter.

Two questions. Could you just continue decanting multiple times and store extra yeast for later batches, thus buy the yeast once and make a couple of yeast batches to store for next time instead of harvesting?

Second question, and sorry, I know I can’t give specific information, which certainly doesn’t help. I’m planning on making a high gravity 5 gallon barleywine and using WLP099. I have no idea what the OG will be, but it’s going to be BIG. Should I decant and add more DME to up the cell count? WPL099 ferments up to 25%, with additions I’m sure.

Stir plate questions.

I bought a $36 one off Amazon because my LHBS didn’t have one in stock. He doesn’t carry very much equipment, mostly ingredients and supplies. In the description it didn’t say it came with a stir bar so I ordered a set. Tried out my new toy with water and the stir bar that came with it. Pretty cool.

Now the stir bar it came with is all smooth, while the extra stir bars I ordered have a center ring. Would those be better for the glass or doesn’t matter. I know it’s special glass, but to be on the safe side...

When making the starter, should I keep the plate going the entire time until it’s time to pitch or rest to decant?

If just pitching, how do you get the stir bar out so it doesn’t end up in the wort? Or do you just leave it in the bottom flask and leave a tad of the slurry behind?

What should the tornado look like? In just water I could see if you turn it real high it sends bubbles from the bar. Is this too much o2? Should it reach half way down? All the way to the bar? Doesn’t really matter?

This is what I bought off of Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072K24X5P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ISMV5G4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks again!
Cheers!

I intentionally overbuild my starters and pour off a quart before I put the flask in the refrigerator. Obviously, I put the extra quart in the refrigerator as well for future use. Then after a day or so, I remove the flask and decant. Overbuilding starters in cleaner than harvesting.

I'm not sure if you are using a program or not. If not or if your program does not have a starter calculator, then check out https://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/, If using BF, I would enter the OG of at least 1.080 (typical ~ 1.080-1.120) and choose the probrewer 1.25 drop down for high ales. Enter the date of you yeast and calculate what is needed based on the size of a single starter or step starter steps.

I use a 5L flask and do not make step starters. Typically, my starter is anywhere from 3.75-4.0L in size (which includes the quart I will be pouring into a mason jar to use in making another starter in the future).

I like a large vortex that almost touches the stir bar. The bubbles you see come from the vortex touching the stir bar. That is not necessary and may slow down the bar or eventually might disrupt the spin.

I found my first stir plate slowed way down with higher OG starters. The small vortex eventually turned into a dimple and it took longer for the starter to build up. So, last January I bought another stir plate (Maelstrom) when it was on sale and now my starters form faster since the vortex is huge with the Maelstrom. The larger vortex introduces more O2.

Don't get me wrong, the dimple will work just fine but just take longer. You probably will not notice the difference until you compare it when making a low OG starter vs a high OG. I have the same set of stir bars and they will work fine with your stir plate.