Basic yeast starter questions

[Pilamman]

My first yeast starter, and at first glance it seems to be a simple procedure, but... My goal: 1.5L of WLP008 for Summer Ale clone. I'm using a 2L erlenmyer, and 150g light DME. First batch of starter boiled over and left a residue around the neck of the flask, surely this will get contaminated, so that was tossed. What I learned was to not put the water in first as the DME got stuck around the neck exacerbating the boil over issue. Second batch, poured DME in first, then used hot tap water to dissolve. It's now on the burner and I'm bringing it up slowly.

So, what's everybody's procedure to ensure a tidy starter?

After cooling I'll pitch and dump in carefully the stir bar in (sanitized in Starsan), cover with foil and then put on the stir plate at a relatively low speed at room temp overnight. Any suggestions for improvement?

Cheers

 

[Pilamman]

Update: I'm seeing hot break material pre-boil. Turning heat up a bit now.

 

[gavball6]

I wind up just using a small saucepan to boil up my mini-wort rather than doing it in the flask. I know the flask is nice as a one-vessel option, but I just find it easier to transfer into the sanitized flask than to worry about boilovers or the narrow mouth of the flask.

 

[Pilamman]

Thanks - good idea. I admit I'm trying to follow Jamil's directions from a podcast, so I'll see how it goes for me. Did you sanitize with Starsan or similar?

 

[kh54s10]

I started by boiling in the flask. Now I boil in a pot. I start stirring in the dme as the water is heating up. Even with a 2 qt pot and 1 liter wort you still have to watch carefully. It really foams up at the beginning of the boil.

Your first batch was OK - no reason to toss it!

 

[Pilamman]

Good to know. I was afraid the residue around the neck might get buggy, so better safe than yucky beer.

Update: a watched flask does boil. It boils nicely without boil over, until you turn your back for the 10 seconds it takes to turn on the cold water for the chill down. Then it goes nuts.

Since you said the first batch should be OK, and this one has only a slight residue, I'm going with it.

Cheers

 

[kman6234]

I boil in the pot, funnel it into the sanitized flask and then cool and pitch. It was a pain trying to get the DME into the flask and to prevent boil overs so I do it this way now.

 

[Pilamman]

Seems the verdict is in: boil in a pot and pour into sanitized flask.

Update: 11 hrs into ferment and a nice little krauszen going. I had to turn the speed up on the stir plate since the viscosity has apparently increased.

Cheers

 

[gavball6]

Thanks - good idea. I admit I'm trying to follow Jamil's directions from a podcast, so I'll see how it goes for me. Did you sanitize with Starsan or similar?

Yes... I sanitize with Starsan...

 

[beertroll]

If you do decide to boil in the flask, don't worry about sanitizing the stir bar; just toss it in the flask before you boil, and it will get sterilized during the boil. Boilovers in a flask can happen in the blink of an eye, but they can be avoided if you're careful. I've started keeping a thermometer in the flask as I heat up. Once it gets up over 160 or so, I start gradually backing off the heat, landing at low just as it starts to boil. If I'm paying attention, the hot break doesn't overflow the flask, and I do 800ml starters in a 1l flask.

 

[arnoldk2]

I wind up just using a small saucepan to boil up my mini-wort rather than doing it in the flask. I know the flask is nice as a one-vessel option, but I just find it easier to transfer into the sanitized flask than to worry about boilovers or the narrow mouth of the flask.

This is how I do it. I boil in a sauce pan for 10 minutes. Add that to my starter with the stir bar. Put my oven on low heat and wait for boiling again. Boil for 5 more minutes in the flask. This will sanitize the stir bar and the flask. You do have to watch the flask though because it will want to do a boil over still on low heat. Normally I take the flask off the heat to let it settle down and reply the heat. After that it seems the starter doesn't want to boil over anymore.