I did not use a starter

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
bulldogxray

bulldogxray

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2007
Messages
127
Reaction score
0
Location
indianapolis
I brewed a norhten brewer Dry Irish stout kit yesterday (Great service by Northern by the way) it came with a wyeast 1084 irish ale yeast smack pack. I have only brewed kits so far so I have not used a starter.The first kit was hefe and whte labs liqid took 3+ days to start fementing. This kit took about 16hrs to start it really took off. Was I just lucky ? why did this one take off soe quickly?

Picture 001.jpg


Picture 002.jpg
 
I have never made a starter either, just always use the smack packs and make sure i give them a good 24 hrs to swell. By that point i know the yeast is nice and active. I usually have visible fermentation within 12 - 18 hours.
 
I rarely do starters and I've almost always have fermentation within 6 hours.

There are a lot of variables that effect the start of fermentation. The yeast strain, the date of manufacture of the yeast, the yeast count, the original gravity, and the temperature of the wort all play significant parts in when fermentation will start.
 
I understand if you are happy with the beer you brew, but making a starter is not solely for quick starts or even vigorous fermentation for that matter.

Starters, or more importantly, correct pitching rates ensure that the yeast gives the beer the best qualities it has to offer. Even if you are getting fermentation, you are stressing your yeast which could eventually lead to off flavours, stuck fermentation, or high fermentation temperatures.

When you make a starter, you are allowing the yeast to go through a standard growth phase, if you just dump it into your beer, it will go through this phase in the wort, driving more stress out of the yeast, moreso as your O.G. increases.
 
PseudoChef said:
I understand if you are happy with the beer you brew, but making a starter is not solely for quick starts or even vigorous fermentation for that matter.

Starters, or more importantly, correct pitching rates ensure that the yeast gives the beer the best qualities it has to offer. Even if you are getting fermentation, you are stressing your yeast which could eventually lead to off flavours, stuck fermentation, or high fermentation temperatures.

When you make a starter, you are allowing the yeast to go through a standard growth phase, if you just dump it into your beer, it will go through this phase in the wort, driving more stress out of the yeast, moreso as your O.G. increases.
Click to expand...


Idid not know that thanks for the information
 
As I understand it, a smack pack will effectively make a starter for 5 gallons of wort, since it combines the liquid yeast with malt based nutrients and gives the yeast a bit of time to get going before being added. Wht labs, on the other hand, just comes in the tubes, so it might benefit from being made into a starter so that the yeast are healthy and plentiful enough to properly inoculate the wort. I didn't realize this the first time I used the wht labs hefeweizen yeast, and I had a bit of a delayed start to my fermentation.
 
For a low gravity wort like a dry stout, you can probably get away without making a starter. However, it's a good thing that you got what appears to be a fresh bunch of yeast that was ready to rock 'n' roll.

One great advantage of a starter is that you get to check yeast viability and improve it at the same time. You also will just about know that you have some yeast that is ready to pitch. That said, I've pitched many batches straight from the smack pack or White Labs vial.


TL
 
A smack pack is still not enough yeast cells to ensure the desired fermentation characteristics from the yeast. Please read my above post.
 
Ok I have a question. I have only used extract kits and I plan to continue untill I feel comfortable enough to move to all grain batches. My question is this do I have to buy dme to match my kit to make my starter or can I simply use light dme for all my starters regardless of what I am brewing? thanks for the help
 
You can just use light DME and decant the wort of the starter if you want. If you use a stir plate or shake the crap out of it you would probably want to decant anyhow.

+1 On starters making not only your fermentation start faster but makeing you beer better in most cases
 
This may seem silly, but could someone post detailed instructions on how to do a yeast starter? I’ve never done one, but as I’m looking at higher gravity beers I see they seem to require starters.

What type of DME should be used? Does one just pour the whole mixture into the five gallons? If not, what to do? You know, the basics of the whole process.

I would appreciate it.
 
FerociouslyTed said:
This may seem silly, but could someone post detailed instructions on how to do a yeast starter? I’ve never done one, but as I’m looking at higher gravity beers I see they seem to require starters.

What type of DME should be used? Does one just pour the whole mixture into the five gallons? If not, what to do? You know, the basics of the whole process.

I would appreciate it.
Click to expand...

The Gospel According to Jamil: Yeast Starter FAQ.
 
I haven't used starters but plan to...what is the longest that I should let one sit? I would forsee a situation where I'd chill it down but not decant it right away. That scenario seems like it would also be taxing for the yeast.
 
gwood said:
I haven't used starters but plan to...what is the longest that I should let one sit? I would forsee a situation where I'd chill it down but not decant it right away. That scenario seems like it would also be taxing for the yeast.
Click to expand...

Chilling the yeast essentially puts them in hibernation mode, it isn't a stress-inducing process. Also, the beer on top of the yeast (or in suspension, whichever) is basically useless after it has fermented out, as it has no more nutrients to provide.
 
PseudoChef said:
Chilling the yeast essentially puts them in hibernation mode, it isn't a stress-inducing process. Also, the beer on top of the yeast (or in suspension, whichever) is basically useless after it has fermented out, as it has no more nutrients to provide.
Click to expand...

So...how long would you be able to effectively store a starter though? I PLAN on brewing all the time, but more than half the time something has come up as of late and I'd like to not waste DME or smack packs.
 
gwood said:
So...how long would you be able to effectively store a starter though? I PLAN on brewing all the time, but more than half the time something has come up as of late and I'd like to not waste DME or smack packs.
Click to expand...

After the yeast has settled (in refrigeration), you can decant the spent beer and store cold for a while. It's a general guideline of a month, but I've gone longer, other people have gone longer, and haven't seen any problems. I recently used a 13-month old smack pack without a single issue. It was only refrigerated the whole time. If you're doing this, I would look into purchasing small storage tubes or such that you can store in, as a loosely covered flask may not be ideal for extended storage (refrigerators are hella dirty).
 
I use my primary to make my starters. I always use like or neutral ingredients and then pitch my semi cooled wort onto the yeast.
This has always yielded great results. I believe it is because I am pouring through the mouth of the carboy 3 ft or so down onto the yeast. Thus stirring the hell out of them and aerating pretty well at the same time.
 
cheezydemon said:
I use my primary to make my starters. I always use like or neutral ingredients and then pitch my semi cooled wort onto the yeast.
This has always yielded great results. I believe it is because I am pouring through the mouth of the carboy 3 ft or so down onto the yeast. Thus stirring the hell out of them and aerating pretty well at the same time.
Click to expand...

This was what I was thinking of doing but I'm going to be lagering in my chest freezer so I was a bit concerned about keeping the yeast in a primary in those conditions for longer periods of time but it looks like I should be fine.
 

Similar threads

Gytaryst
First Brew in 5 years - I Have Questions
Replies
14
Views
924
Gytaryst
Gytaryst
_Keven
No activity after 12 hours using a yeast starter
Replies
15
Views
1K
_Keven
_Keven
B
Terrible brew
Replies
25
Views
1K
Craiginthecorn
C
H
Yeast starter not starting
Replies
16
Views
1K
HB2112
H
D
I broke a lot of rules
Replies
34
Views
2K
beren
beren

Latest posts

Back
Top