2nd brew- Brewing Dry Dock Urca Vanilla Porter- should I make a starter?

On saturday of next weekend, I am going to be brewing Dry Dock Urca Vanilla Porter. It has a OG of 1.061. I am using Wyeast's 1056 American Ale yeast.

Should I be making a starter for this beer? Wyeast suggests that 1.060 and higher OG should have a starter, but it is so close, I am not sure it would matter. I am too new to this and have never made a starter, so I am not sure how forgiving they can be.

Point me in the right direction. Should I make a starter with every beer I do regarless of OG? Should I follow the 1.060 and above starter rule?

 

Personally I wouldn't but wouldn't hurt any to make one and learn a bit more in this fantastic jury we are on......cheers!

 

You should make a starter. Check out Mr Malty.com which has pich rates for yeast.

 

I made this kit, and I did not use a starter. By the way, mine is in bottles and it tastes awesome...like a vanilla milkshake.

I soaked the beans in vodka and added that to the secondary, versus throwing them right on the beer.

 

You could have success without one with this beer to be sure, but if you want to assure proper attentuation and a quicker start that avoids off flavors getting a foothold in your beer, the safer bet is to use a starter.

 

Sounds like I should be making a starter. Thanks for the input guys.

Wisluggo, I am glad it turned out great, and I think I may use your idea of soaking the beans in vodka and adding them during 2ndary. How long did you let them soak?

 

Hey I have the same kit in my primary, I also used Wyeast 1056.
It’s been a week but I am going to give it another before moving to secondary. I may try soaking the beans in vodka too, sounds interesting.

I always do starters and did a 1 liter on a stir plate for this one. As someone else said, check out Mr.Malty.
I found this nice tutorial on using it. http://billybrew.com/yeast-starter-size

 

I cut the beans into half inch pieces, split them open, scraped the insides out, and put them in a mason jar. I poured vodka over the top just enough to cover them. I then let it sit at room temp for 3 days, and one week before bottling I added half the mixture. If you add all of it, you will add too much vanilla flavor. A little goes a long way.

 

When you say put them in a mason jar, do you mean the beans, or the insides that you scraped out?

 

All of it goes into the jar (the insides and the outer shell).

And yes, I'd recommend making a starter always when using liquid yeast. Make the starter a couple of days before brewing so you'll have time to chill and decant the spent wort... although you could just pitch the whole thing if you want.

 

^this

All of the beans and their parts go into the jar.

 

Sounds good...I will do just that and let you know how it turns out. I can't wait to get this one going.

 

Does anyone have an actual Partial Mash recipe for this? I see the kit and would love to get it, but something tells me that one could get all the ingredients cheaper than buying the kid.

 

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/dry-dock-urca-vanilla-porter-pro-series-partial-mash-kit.html

Go to the link above and click on the additional information tab. There is a PDF version of the instructions which includes the recipe.

 

Also I priced it out on NB before I bought the kit. It was about $2 more to buy everything separate.

To the OP like mentioned above you are going to love this one. It was my 8th brew and hands down my best to date. I went with the dry yeast option which I pitched dry and had no issues.

 

I just racked to my secondary and tasted a sample. Even without the vanilla at this point, it is one great beer already, and it still has lots of room and time to improve. I am excited about this one!

 

Thx JDSanders for that overlook on my part.

Reason I was asking is one of my best friends works for Avery Brewing and also for a Brew House so I get the ingreds and a pretty good price

 

Anyone soak their beans in Bourbon for this one? If so, please share details! The 6 beans that came with the kit are making me nervous- don't want to overdo it and could use some feedback from those more experienced with vanilla bean additions.