Am I thinking about this righ. Stepping up a starter

[olotti]

My goal is a 5.5L starter, for a RIS with an OG of 1.106, but I don't have the means to do it all in 1 vessel. So I first made a 2.5L which I will then chill after 24-36hrs, decant, and then make another 3L starter that I will pitch on top of the slurry giving me a 5.5L total starter. Am I going through this process right, sorry never stepped up a starter.

 

[BamaPhil]

Yep, that'll get the job done.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[freisste]

My goal is a 4.5L starter but I don't have the means to do it all in 1 vessel. So I first made a 2.5L which I will then chill after 24-36hrs, decant, and then make another 2 L starter that I will pitch on top of the slurry giving me a 4.5L total starter. Am I going through this process right, sorry never stepped up a starter.

I don't believe it is quite the same. True, you will have yeast chew through 4.5L of wort. But you don't get the same gains from a stepped starter as you do from a a single step. To get better efficiency, you will need to go from a smaller to a larger starter. In this case, you would do better going from 2 to 2.5 (or maybe even 1.7 to 2.8). You can check the numbers with yeastcalculator.com. It has a pretty good stepped starter prediction. You will be able to optimize yeast growth with a certain amount of starter wort.

 

[olotti]

I don't believe it is quite the same. True, you will have yeast chew through 4.5L of wort. But you don't get the same gains from a stepped starter as you do from a a single step. To get better efficiency, you will need to go from a smaller to a larger starter. In this case, you would do better going from 2 to 2.5 (or maybe even 1.7 to 2.8). You can check the numbers with yeastcalculator.com. It has a pretty good stepped starter prediction. You will be able to optimize yeast growth with a certain amount of starter wort.

This is only the 2nd starter I've ever made for what is going to be the biggest beer I'll prob ever make so I get what your throwing down as soon as I made the 2.5L starter I thought shoot I shouldve done a smaller one then do the bigger one. Oh well live and learn, this will only be my 8-9th HB batch so hopefully it'll get enough yeast to attenuate down the the 1.030 FG starting from a potential 1.106 OG. Guess we'll see.

 

[freisste]

This is only the 2nd starter I've ever made for what is going to be the biggest beer I'll prob ever make so I get what your throwing down as soon as I made the 2.5L starter I thought shoot I shouldve done a smaller one then do the bigger one. Oh well live and learn, this will only be my 8-9th HB batch so hopefully it'll get enough yeast to attenuate down the the 1.030 FG starting from a potential 1.106 OG. Guess we'll see.

Probably will. Yeast might be just a little stressed if you end up underpitching, but it won't be the end of the world.

I don't mean to put the cart ahead of the horse, but how do you plan to carbonate? It is often difficult to get beers that big to bottle carb. Just something to think about.

 

[olotti]

Probably will. Yeast might be just a little stressed if you end up underpitching, but it won't be the end of the world.

I don't mean to put the cart ahead of the horse, but how do you plan to carbonate? It is often difficult to get beers that big to bottle carb. Just something to think about.

What if I stepped this up into a 3L or 3.25L starter instead going from a 2.5L to a 2L?
I also am using the stir and swirl method as I have not acquired a stir plate yet so I'm not projected to have as much yeast as I would with a 5+L starter with a stir plate. So the bigger the better I'm guessing for this beer.

As far as carbing others in the thread with the recipe say it shouldn't b a problem however one guy mentioned he only did a 2L starter and was having issues but I'm going way over that. This beer is going to secondary for 6 months so with a huge starter I hope it'll b ok to carb once bottled.

 

[BansheeRider]

My goal is a 4.5L starter but I don't have the means to do it all in 1 vessel. So I first made a 2.5L which I will then chill after 24-36hrs, decant, and then make another 2 L starter that I will pitch on top of the slurry giving me a 4.5L total starter. Am I going through this process right, sorry never stepped up a starter.

What's the OG of this beer?

I don't mean to put the cart ahead of the horse, but how do you plan to carbonate? It is often difficult to get beers that big to bottle carb. Just something to think about.

It is not difficult to carb big beers, it just takes longer. A 5% beer can take 1-2 weeks to carbonate depending on temperature. A 10% beer could take a month or longer depending on conditions.

 

[freisste]

It is not difficult to carb big beers, it just takes longer. A 5% beer can take 1-2 weeks to carbonate depending on temperature. A 10% beer could take a month or longer depending on conditions.

I agree - as long as you aren't approaching the limit of the yeast. That was my concern.

 

[BansheeRider]

I agree - as long as you aren't approaching the limit of the yeast. That was my concern.

Bottle carbonation tabs are another option if all else fails.

 

[olotti]

I agree - as long as you aren't approaching the limit of the yeast. That was my concern.

So I plan on stepping up into a 3L starter next would this be better than doing the 2L starter I previously mentioned. That would give me a 5.5L starter total.

 

[Cyclman]

If you aren't doing a stirplate, split the yeast, do 2 parallel starters. You can use gallon jugs, and will have plenty of yeast at the end. Use a yeast calculator to figure exactly how large you want your starters.

If you don't have one already, I would recommend O2 injection for such a large beer, and I would inject the starters, too. You don't want a stalled fermentation.

 

[freisste]

Bottle carbonation tabs are another option if all else fails.

I guess I'm not familiar with the carbonation tabs? How do they get around the issue of yeast at its ABV limit? I thought they were just premeasured sugar - do they contain alcohol tolerant yeast as well?

 

[CA_Mouse]

Bottle carbonation tabs are another option if all else fails.

Those are just sugar, they won't help with carbonation if the yeast are expired or completely stressed from the high ABV

 

[CA_Mouse]

I guess I'm not familiar with the carbonation tabs? How do they get around the issue of yeast at its ABV limit? I thought they were just premeasured sugar - do they contain alcohol tolerant yeast as well?

You are correct, they are just sugar. There is no yeast in them.

 

[MatterOne]

You are correct, they are just sugar. There is no yeast in them.

I believe these contain yeast.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/prime-dose-carbonation-tablets-200-count.html

 

[BansheeRider]

I guess I'm not familiar with the carbonation tabs? How do they get around the issue of yeast at its ABV limit? I thought they were just premeasured sugar - do they contain alcohol tolerant yeast as well?

Those are just sugar, they won't help with carbonation if the yeast are expired or completely stressed from the high ABV

You are correct, they are just sugar. There is no yeast in them.

I believe these contain yeast.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/prime-dose-carbonation-tablets-200-count.html

As linked above there are tabs on the market that are designed to carbonate beer for stressed yeast. I am not a chemist therefore not sure what is in these tabs, but I do know they work.

 

[CA_Mouse]

I believe these contain yeast.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/prime-dose-carbonation-tablets-200-count.html

Interesting... Hadn't heard of these yet. I do agree with the reviews though. It would be nice to know what yeast strain they contain, to be able to better solve any possible flavor issues.