Using Liquid Malt Extract for a Yeast Starter

Hello,

I've searched the forums and the internet for a definitive answer on how to make a liquid yeast starter from Bavarian Wheat Liquid Malt Extract and British Ale II 1335 Wyeast, but I am coming up short and I don't want to screw this up!

A brewing friend strongly encouraged me to make a yeast starter. I have read, however that liquid yeast packets sold today do not need starters for Beers that have an original gravity of 1.055 or less. This recipe has a an OG of 1.05, so I'm wondering if the starter is even really all that necessary.

I'm fairly new to this so any comments are welcome.

I am making this recipe:
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STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE CREAM ALE
Style (BJCP): 03C. Light Ale - Cream Ale
Extract Ingredients:
Crystal 15 0.25 lb (4 %) Mash
Château Biscuit® 0.25 lb (4 %) Mash
Bavarian Wheat LME 5.5 lb (91 %) Boil

Hops:
Spaltz, Germany 1.0 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 4.8% AA

Yeast:
British Ale II 1335 Wyeast (74.5% 63°F – 75°F)

Adjuncts:
Lactose 8.0 oz @ 1 min boil
Vanilla Beans 1.0 each 6 days Secondary
Strawberries (Frozen) 32.0 oz 6 days Secondary
Irish Moss, 1/4 tsp @ 15 min boil

Extract Instructions:
Heat 3 gal H20 to 160F. Steep grains for 30 mins at ~155F. Rinse with 2 quarts of 170F water and remove grains. Heat to a boil. Turn of heat and add 1/2 of liquid malt extract (LME). Stir until dissolved. Return to boil. Add hops and adjuncts according to the schedule. At 15 min left in boil, add remaining malt extract (turn off burner to avoid scorching). Chill to ~70F, add water to reach 5 gallons in sanitized fermenter. Aerate and pitch yeast. Follow regular fermentation procedure, keeping yeast in the 63-75F range.

Prepare Fruit in Secondary Fermenter. Freeze your fruit first to break up cell walls. Place in sanitized mesh bag. Stir in 1/2 crushed campden tablet until well mixed. Tie end of mesh bag in knot and leave for 24-48 hours (covered). After beer has reached terminal gravity, syphon into secondary sanitized fermenter with fruit in it. Give about 6 days to ferment fruit, then carefully remove fruit bag w/ sanitized spoon. Rack to secondary if desired.

Volume in US Gallons: 5.00gal
Final Gravity: 1.01
Original Gravity: 1.05
SRM (color): 5
IBU: 17
Official HBX Recipe: No

 

As long as the yeast isn't too old you should be fine without a starter. There are a number of online calculators like this one that are extremely helpful. A starter is simply a way to increase the number of yeast cells you are pitching. The extract that you use to make the starter isn't all that important. You want the gravity of your starter to only be about 1.030-1.040 so you don't overload or stress the yeast. At that level there's not much flavors or aromas being added. One of the only concerns as far as extract I think would be color. If you're making a light beer you don't want to use dark wort in your starter. A lot of people decant their starters before they pitch it. It's the yeast you're after. Most of the flavor or esters that yeast adds to beer happens during weeks it spends in the fermenter going thru a number of different stages. When you make a yeast starter you're only concerned with the reproduction stage.

 

It's much easier to work with dry extract for starters because it is very easy to measure. Just buy a 1 or 3 pound bag of dry extract and use that for your starters, I use light pilsen for starters.

Reseal it in a zip-loc bag, it is very hydrophilic

 

DOes anyone take some second runnings after their mash and collect some wort to use as future starters? Seems like a good plan. I alwasy know that there are enough sugars left over in my mash tun to collect some wort that I can boil down to a good gravity for starter making. Store it in sanitized mason jars? Am I off base? I really never do starters since I usually use dry yeast, but I always considered saving the left overs.

 

For sure. I've heard of people using pressure canners to sterilize wort in canning jars for use later in starters. In that case, they should be extremely shelf stable and would last a while.

 

Thankfully, my fermentor is the Catalyst, so no transferring is needed to remove the trub from the equation without exposure to air. Thanks for responding!