Brett L wyeast starter help!

[mattyp1214]

Alright need some advice on a brett starter... using Brett L wyeast, usually don't make starters but Ive switched to all grain and want to start to ensure healthier fermentation and guaranteed fermentation.

That said... I tried to make a starter the other day with this using 3/4 cup extra light extract and 1 liter water at 75F and for some reason the starter didn't take off after a few days so I dumped it. No krausen just a little of what looked like white moldish stuff floating on top?

Bought another pack today... is muntons extra light DME okay to use? Tap water okay? Also I don't have a scale so thats why I used 3/4 cup... is this the proper amount? Should I just say screw the starter and pitch the yeast?

Thanks, any advice appreciated!

 

[mattyp1214]

PS Ive done a sour beer and what was on top of my first starter did not appear to be a pellicle and it smelled pretty strong. I dunno could've been fine but didnt look like what most peoples' starters look like

 

[Calder]

I've not used Brett before. i have a tube of WPL650 (Brett B) waiting to be used. From what I have read, you should not expect to see too much from it and it will take a lot longer than regular yeast (2 weeks in a starter).

What you saw might very well have been normal.

I don't use DME, but that seems a little too much. 3/4 cup is about 6 ounces. In 1 liter that will give you a gravity of about 1,060. You should be aiming for aqround 1.030 for a starter. That said, 1.060 will not kill the yeast.

 

[jgardner6]

You really shouldn't need a starter for Brett because the pitching rate is much lower than that of sacc. This is an e-mail I got for Jamil on pitching Brett rates.

This is in the yeast book, page 61.

I would try 200 K cells per ml of wort. If you want to grow Brett, use
lots and lots of oxygen to get decent growth in a starter. Don't do
lots in the beer, since it will produce vinegar.

JZ

Primary- Kolsch
Secondary- Brett Saison
Kegged- 10 Gal Black IPA, Wet Hop Citra Pale Ale, Sorachi Ace Pilsner, 10 Gal Oatmeal Stout
Bottled- Zeus IPA, Berliner Weisse
Next- Greenbelt Pale Ale, 100% Brett Pale Ale, SMaSH Beer

 

[dwarven_stout]

Alright need some advice on a brett starter... using Brett L wyeast, usually don't make starters but Ive switched to all grain and want to start to ensure healthier fermentation and guaranteed fermentation.

Are you trying to make an all-brett beer? If not, you don't need a starter. If so, then you should make a starter. The liquid brett cultures are about 1/10 the number of cells as the other liquid cultures.

That said... I tried to make a starter the other day with this using 3/4 cup extra light extract and 1 liter water at 75F and for some reason the starter didn't take off after a few days so I dumped it. No krausen just a little of what looked like white moldish stuff floating on top?

Hate to say it, but that sounds about like brett. You get a good krausen out of it when used as a primary fermenter, but at low doses it just looks scummy. It also takes a while to grow.

If you're doing a starter for brett you want to make sure you're aerating it pretty well or it's slow to grow. Start small. There's not very many cells in that pack, so start with 2 cups water / 1/2 cup DME, then bump up to a 1L starter to get to a pitchable quantity.

Another trick to promote starter growth in brett is to add a little chalk/calcium carbonate. Brett tends to produce more acid when there is plenty of oxygen present, and the chalk will help buffer it.

Bought another pack today... is muntons extra light DME okay to use? Tap water okay? Also I don't have a scale so thats why I used 3/4 cup... is this the proper amount? Should I just say screw the starter and pitch the yeast?

Thanks, any advice appreciated!

Always boil your starter. I usually add some yeast nutrient (be careful with DAP, though, as it can bring some crazy pineapple flavors out of brett).

 

[Sixbillionethans]

Here's my yeast starter notes from an all Brett L beer I did a while back.

Yeast Starter Notes: Brettanomyces Lambicus
*Package smelled like tart cherry pie.
1) 800ml of 1.047 wort, pitched yeast on 12/21/09 - 7:00PM. Also added 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient.
2) Kept starter warm in my fermentation chamber, but had issues & temp was dropping down to 60F.
3) Finally really got temp up (75-80F) during 2nd day and fermentation was going by 8:00PM…so much slower than usual. Seems like it totally quits below 65-68F.
4) Really at high krausen by 8:00AM on 12/23. White fluffy foam. Smell is saison-ish with a bit of tartness.

 

[mattyp1214]

Brewed a batch last night of the muse someone had posted on here. I changed a few things in the recipe. This was my first all grain alchemy said my target OG was 1.067 I was at 1.061 which should be fine.

Made a starter a week ago 1L, after a few days it had some krausen then fell. I shook everyday till brew day smelled really good just not much activity. Pitched yeast last night it was at 78F and cooled the wort down to about the same temp. No visible activity today, looked like a good amount of yeast on the bottom but no krausen or anything. We'll see what happens hope the yeast is okay.

Anyone else have a slow starter with Brett L