Starter yeast vs Straight from the package?

[srpratt]

I have used a lot of White Labs yeast straight from the test tube into my primary w/ great results. I see some folks make stirrers and "prime" their yeast with warm temperatures, stirring, and sugar. Biologically, don't both yeasts end up in a buffet of sugary goodness...thus, is a starter necessary? It seems much ado about nothing, whereas more energy can be spent on other HB pursuits. I have never done a yeast starter so any logic behind the why and how would be fantastic.

Thanks everyone.

 

[olz431]

I am a newb and only done 55 gallons thus far. I haven't made a starter. I don't think i have needed to. I have done beers 1.070 up to 1.096. I just hope i dont encounter a situation where I should have made a starter.

 

[dinnerstick]

find an introductory book on yeast biology, you will quickly see why your logic is wrong. it sounds right; the yeast are going to multiply to fill the available space so who cares how many you put in, but in practice it really isn't right! the amount of viable yeast pitched relative to the amount of available fermentables can make a huge impact on many aspects of the final beer, from the flavor compounds produced to the ability of the yeast to attenuate well.
that said, if you have a fresh vial of yeast and low gravity wort, you may not 'need' a starter at all.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Start making yeast starters. Do it now.

Starters are like flat screen TVs. You don't have to understand how they work - just sit back and enjoy the results.

 

[ajf]

See http://maltosefalcons.com/tech/yeast-propagation-and-maintenance-principles-and-practices

-a.

 

[g-star]

Read a book like "Yeast" by Zainisheff/White and educate yourself.

Proper yeast pitching rates and fermentation control are the two primary things that separate average homebrew from quality beer.

 

[ACbrewer]

I recomend 'YEAST' by Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff (yes White of WhiteLabs).

The long and short of it. The yeast will grow, but being a biological system, and not mechanical, it has more moving parts. Under pitching, and pitching at to high of a temp results in the yeast producing more of certian by-products than others. While a small amount of these by-products are generally expected in a beer, a large amount creates off flavors. Thus by underpitching, you create more of these off flavors. Typically these are undesirable, but at certian levels and styles they are expected - Belgian Beers forinstance have more of these byproducts.

A good rule of thumb is 1 vial/slap pack/dry pack for a beer up to 1.040. a starter or 2 v/sp/dry for up to 1.060 and starters for beers 1.080 or more (along with extra 02). This assumes a 5 gallon batch. a 10 gallon batch, you'd basically double this, pending a source check, like YEAST.