Yeast starter from wort?

[jkh389]

My question is can I brew my extract brew, cool it, transfer it to a carboy and seal it and then decant off 1L to use for a starter and then pitch into the brew 1 day later?

 

[GeauxBrew]

You could but your risk of infection increases. One of the reasons you want to get your fermentation going quickly is the rapid increase in yeast population crouds out the other micro organisms, decreasing your risk of infection.

 

[jkh389]

ah, so i guess just go and buy some DME huh... i didnt want to spend the $$ on it but I guess i should

 

[Golddiggie]

Next batch, brew more wort than you'll need and reserve some in the fridge/freezer until it's time to make the starter for the next batch. It's far easier/cheaper when you're brewing all grain.

With all grain, you can simply make your beer wort then run additional water through the grain and collect that wort. Depending on it's SG reading, you could boil it to concentrate it more, then save and use for a starter later.

 

[jborho]

Why decant... why not just transfer some to a starter vessel... and then the rest to carboy? I have read in a few forums of people doing such things, I guess it really comes down to sanitation. The faster you get that fermentation, the less likely the "BUGS" will take over. Is that a risk your willing to take? With all that time you put into it, and money? I would rather spend a couple bucks and make my starter ahead of time.

 

[Swib]

My question is can I brew my extract brew, cool it, transfer it to a carboy and seal it and then decant off 1L to use for a starter and then pitch into the brew 1 day later?

I suppose it's possible, but I think the reason for making a special starter wort is to avoid hops and other things that may contribute flavor.

 

[NyPDFustercluck]

Go to the grocery store and hit up the ethnic food aisle and grab a bottle of Malta goya. It's a very lightly hopped malt sweetened soda that tons of people use to make starters. My lhbs even sells them strictly for this purpose

 

[jkh389]

Go to the grocery store and hit up the ethnic food aisle and grab a bottle of Malta goya. It's a very lightly hopped malt sweetened soda that tons of people use to make starters. My lhbs even sells them strictly for this purpose

Will the soda give the yeast some weird characteristics?

Also, am I going to want to dump the soda with the yeast into the beer or siphon off as much of the soda and then rouse the yeast on the bottom of the flask with water and pitch?

 

[eastoak]

My question is can I brew my extract brew, cool it, transfer it to a carboy and seal it and then decant off 1L to use for a starter and then pitch into the brew 1 day later?

i do that with every single beer i brew.

 

[NyPDFustercluck]

The Malta goya is just fine to pitch into your wort, when I was in tankerman's class, the professor said something profound to us one day "the solution to pollution is dilution" with ~12 oz of your starter going into ~5 gallons of your wort the goya (which is basically wort anyways) isn't going to affect your finish product in the least. If you've still got reservations, by all means go ahead and cold crash your starter, then decant the liquid off of it before pitching the slurry

Plus it's usually a buck or less, pretty cost effective.

 

[jkh389]

i do that with every single beer i brew.

So you basically transfer your wort to the carboy and decant off 1L before sealing it and you usually have no problem with contamination?

 

[paraordnance]

You could but your risk of infection increases. One of the reasons you want to get your fermentation going quickly is the rapid increase in yeast population crouds out the other micro organisms, decreasing your risk of infection.

from personal experiecne I have to disagree with you. I used to do no-chill brewing and always left my wort overnight to chill on its own. Sometimes I pitch yeast 24 hr later, never a problem.

 

[BrewKnurd]

from personal experiecne I have to disagree with you. I used to do no-chill brewing and always left my wort overnight to chill on its own. Sometimes I pitch yeast 24 hr later, never a problem.

Just because you've never had a problem doesn't mean that a delayed start doesn't increase your risk of a noticeable infection. It just means you haven't had one. I'm not saying you WILL have infections, nor did GeauxBrew. Simply that a delayed start INCREASES these odds.

 

[Wakadaka]

I have been wanting to try the malta goya technique, and I found a bottle last week at walmart. Ended up just popping it open and drinking it, and I was hoping it would be a pry top, but it was a twist top.

The taste wasn't for me, but it tastes exactly like wort just without any hops. And it was like 59 cents or something like that, so for ease and cheapness it sounds like a pretty good method.

 

[eastoak]

So you basically transfer your wort to the carboy and decant off 1L before sealing it and you usually have no problem with contamination?

exactly. i'm brewing tomorrow and i have a starter pre made but i rather have the wort waiting for the starter than the other way around. as soon as the starter hits high krausen i pitch it and it takes off. someday i'll get an infection and chances are i'll never know for sure where it came from, who ever does? look at any "my beer has an infection" thread and the brewer usually did things the "usual" way so there is no guarantee either way.
try it all kinds of ways, see what works for you.