I have a few extract kits under my belt now, and am wanting to start wading out to the deep end of brewing a little more...slowly lol.
I am subscribed to weekly emails from Beer Smith, and recently received an email talking about the benefits of using a Yeast Starter for brewing, and using Beer Smith to scale a 5 gallon recipe to 1.5-2 Liters for a starter.
So far I only brew 5 gallon extract kits, and haven't ventured out to PM or All Grain.
Here are my questions:
-If my extract kit comes with DME, can I use part of that DME to make my starter? (I figure doing this will effect my OG, but FG should be the same right?)
-Or is it best to get some DME from my LHBS to use specifically for starters only, without robbing from my actual extract kit?
-Do I add the scaled down amount of spices, ingredients, hops to my starter wort? Or should I just leave it plain, and will that effect final flavor at all?
-Will I need to do anything special with my yeast starter if I plan to use a stir plate? (I would think not, but I'm still a novice...I have the parts to make my stir plate, just have to put it all together.)
I am subscribed to weekly emails from Beer Smith, and recently received an email talking about the benefits of using a Yeast Starter for brewing, and using Beer Smith to scale a 5 gallon recipe to 1.5-2 Liters for a starter.
So far I only brew 5 gallon extract kits, and haven't ventured out to PM or All Grain.
Here are my questions:
-If my extract kit comes with DME, can I use part of that DME to make my starter? (I figure doing this will effect my OG, but FG should be the same right?)
-Or is it best to get some DME from my LHBS to use specifically for starters only, without robbing from my actual extract kit?
-Do I add the scaled down amount of spices, ingredients, hops to my starter wort? Or should I just leave it plain, and will that effect final flavor at all?
-Will I need to do anything special with my yeast starter if I plan to use a stir plate? (I would think not, but I'm still a novice...I have the parts to make my stir plate, just have to put it all together.)