Starter question

[AleFred]

So I m brewing NB honey kolsch tomorrow and I was goin to make a starter tonight based on wyeasts website 100grams to 1 liter so I fill my 1 liter flask(I know it's too small) and place 100 grams Bavarian wheat dme into the flask.. Water level rises to the neck? I never remember this happening before with previous starters..I started think how the hell am I goin to. Get the smack pack in there without overflowing even with a 30 min evaporation .. So I let it boil scared of a boil over I dropped some fermcap ...it's never worked for me , am I the only guy who does think much of this stuff? Anyway I had to pour some wort out at the end and I pour half a cup of water to bring a bit under a liter.. Can someone please tell me what happened and if what I did was foolish ..I suspect I'm alright but I'd like some input... Sorry for the rank been a long day and I'm finally rdwhahb'ing:rockin:

 

[Dan]

First off, you're not the only guy who worry's about the brew process. Your message is a bit confusing to me. Could you ask it again? What is your question?

 

[AleFred]

The fact that my water volume plus the dme weight brought the volume level to the neck of my flask ... Bothered me , I've never encounters this problem before with starters as far as I can remember ... I want to know what I did...pouring out some wort and replacing with some water. Cooling then pitch was a bad idea or not.. I'm actually confusing myself at this point I'm sure I ll be fine ...long story short I need a bigger flask

 

[Dan]

Umm, ya.

Did you take a gravity reading of your starter wort? It should be around 1.030 to 1.040. If you're in that ballpark let the yeast do their thing and when you are redady pitch into the cooled wort.

Let the yeast do their thing reproduce for a day or even two, then cold crash the little guys in the frige for a day, pour out the liquid part [edit] add the slurry from the bottom of the flask to another liter of wort with sanitized methods of course [end edit]

If you are making a beer with an original gravity no higher than 1.060, the initial first liter will be fine.

 

[user 4295]

You've got the ratio of 10:1 correct, but you want to end up with a final volume in the flask of 1L, not put in 1L of water and then add 100g of dme. Place 100g of dme in the flask and then add the water until you get a final volume of 1L. That will yield a starter with an OG of ~1.040.

 

[AleFred]

Thanks for the info that makes a bunch more sense, but I do have a bit of another issue.. Last night as I was pitching I poured the liter flask into my carboy til half was left, I then swirled the remaining starter in order to get the cake into suspension. Upon doing so the flask erupts and I had to basically aim the rest of it at the carboy ...I lost a bit not too much but when we're talking yeast any amount loss to me is too much.. Yesterdays brew day was a bit crazy I just wasn't on my game for some reason, even forgot to take an og post boil! Will I get out of this ok with my pitching disaster?

 

[user 4295]

Thanks for the info that makes a bunch more sense, but I do have a bit of another issue.. Last night as I was pitching I poured the liter flask into my carboy til half was left, I then swirled the remaining starter in order to get the cake into suspension. Upon doing so the flask erupts and I had to basically aim the rest of it at the carboy ...I lost a bit not too much but when we're talking yeast any amount loss to me is too much.. Yesterdays brew day was a bit crazy I just wasn't on my game for some reason, even forgot to take an og post boil! Will I get out of this ok with my pitching disaster?

We've all had brew days from hell like that, LOL! You'll be fine. So many people don't even make starters and claim that their beers turn out fine, so the fact that you make a starter, even though you lost a little bit of it during pitching, means that you're batch will turn out great! Good luck!

 

[AleFred]

Thanks, I never brewed a Kolsch before so I hope all is well with this batch. It's currently sitting in the swamp cooler at 55

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Place 100g of dme in the flask and then add the water until you get a final volume of 1L. That will yield a starter with an OG of ~1.040.

that's how i do it, DME, then water to the desired volume. i rarely check gravity of a starter as i ferment them all the way out before pitching, but the times i've checked OG, it's right in the 1.04 range.

Thanks for the info that makes a bunch more sense, but I do have a bit of another issue.. Last night as I was pitching I poured the liter flask into my carboy til half was left, I then swirled the remaining starter in order to get the cake into suspension. Upon doing so the flask erupts and I had to basically aim the rest of it at the carboy ...I lost a bit not too much but when we're talking yeast any amount loss to me is too much.. Yesterdays brew day was a bit crazy I just wasn't on my game for some reason, even forgot to take an og post boil! Will I get out of this ok with my pitching disaster?

like Johnsma said, we've all had those days. when i have, i always over worry every little detail i can, but the beer always turns out. chalk it up to a learning experience.

Thanks, I never brewed a Kolsch before so I hope all is well with this batch. It's currently sitting in the swamp cooler at 55

i'm sure it'll be a good beer, your process sounds good, just that you ran into a few hiccups which can throw any brewer off their game. try'n relax and let that kolsch do it's thing, i'm sure it'll turn out.