Do I need a yeast starter?

[Valvefan]

Hi All,

I'm a beginning brewer. Planning to make a 5 gal batch of stout from extract(dark DME) plus steeped crystal malt and roasted barley. I have White Labs Irish Ale liquid yeast in a "pitchable" tube. I plan to do the primary fermentation in a closed and airlocked pail then rack to a closed and airlocked carboy.

Do I need to make a yeast starter or can I just pich the tube of liquid yeast.

Thanks for your advice.

Valvefan

 

[bjohnson29]

What's your starting gravity? Its good practice to always make one, but you can get away with no starter on a low gravity beer.

 

[cravej]

You can certainly still make beer without the yeast starter, but you'll get a better fermentation by pitching a proper amount of yeast. This becomes more important with higher gravity brews.

 

[rhamilton]

You can certainly still make beer without the yeast starter, but you'll get a better fermentation by pitching a proper amount of yeast. This becomes more important with higher gravity brews.

If you read the label it'll give you general guidelines on when to make a starter, like if OG is > 1.07, the tube is expired, etc.

Let it sit out for a day or so to get warmed up and it's generally good to go.

 

[spokaniac]

I would check mrmalty.com. It will recommend whether you need a starter and how big it should be based on your yeast's mfr date, batch size and the OG of your wort.

I recently did one for WLP013 for a stout I have fermenting now. I just used a 2 liter bottle and made it the day before I brewed. Was very easy to do and got the beer going pretty fast.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

My first 6 batches I rehydrated dry and pitched liquid directly. I made beer. Now I have a stir plate and a 2L flask, and would not dream of brewing without a starter. I still make beer. If you post a "Has my fermentation stalled' thread, the first question asked will be " did you do a starter". Starters will tell you whether the yeast is healthy, expired or dead. If you have the time, do it. but don't stress if you can't or didn't set the time aside.

 

[Revvy]

It's really a good idea to make starters when using ANY liguid yeast for all beers above 1.020 OG...

The biggest reason I suggest folks make a starter is if you make one you'll have peace of mind. It's especially important if you have questionable situation happenning with your yeast, like not being sure the yeast arrived healthy.

And you won't be starting an "is my yeast dead" thread in a couple of days.

Making a starter first insures that your yeast is still alive and viable before you dump it in your beer. You will be less likely to start one of those "is my yeast dead?" threads that are on here every day.

You will also ensure that you have enough yeast usually the tubes and smack packs are a lot less yeast that you really should use for healthy fermentation.

Making a starter also usually means your beer will take off sooner, because the first thing that the little buggers do in the presence of wort (whether in a flask or in a fermenter) is have an orgy to reproduce enough cells to do the job...So it won't take such a long time in the fermenter since they started doing it in the flask.

So making a starter proves your yeast is still healthy, allows you to grow enough yeast to do the job, cuts down on lag time, and ensures that you will not get off flavors or stuck ferementations from stressed out yeast.

 

[kh54s10]

Do you need the starter? No.
Will the beer be better if you make a starter? More than likely.

I did notice a difference when I started making starters. All my beers have been good, the ones with the starters do seem better. I took a couple of my beers to my LHBS and everyone that sampled them were impressed. (I started with Northern Brewer extract kits last July.)

 

[osagedr]

Yes, make a starter. You won't regret it.

If a starter is too much trouble, use dry yeast--but be sure to rehydrate.

 

[Darwin18]

Make the starter. You always should with liquid yeast for the reasons Revvy listed out above. It's good brewing practice and you should notice a difference in your beer (especially if you're managing fermentation temperatures). Usually I see krausen activity within 3 -4 hours of pitching starter yeast.

 

[Valvefan]

Wow!

So many people offered suggestions.
Thanks so much for the help!

The predicted OG is 1.052

On the day before pitching, I will make a starter using 1/2 cup of DME in 1 quart.

Does that sound about right?

 

[Darwin18]

I would like to start mine 72 hours in advance - so if I'm brewing on Saturday, I'm making my starter on Wednesday. I'd give it at least 48 hours...

 

[Revvy]

You can do it with 24 if you have to. It's better than not doing one, because if it's not done, at least it's going. But if you can back time it 2-3 days, the better, especially if you are going to be stepping it up.

 

[Valvefan]

Hi Revvy,

If I make the starter 48 to 72 hours before pitching, should it be refrigerated?

How long after pitching yeast into starer wort would you wait before putting it in the refrigerator?

Thanks

Valvefan

 

[Revvy]

Hi Revvy,

If I make the starter 48 to 72 hours before pitching, should it be refrigerated?

How long after pitching yeast into starer wort would you wait before putting it in the refrigerator?

Thanks

Valvefan

I rarely if ever put my starters in the fridge. I don't seen the need to cold crash them, plus it seems counter productive, why would you want to put the yeast to sleep when you're just about to need it? Part of the reason to make a starter is to have the yeast all active and raring to go when you add it to the wort, making the yeast dormant means you have to wait longer for it to wake up.

 

[Darwin18]

The only time I put a starter in the fridge is when it's larger than what I typically make. If it's approaching the 2L size and I'm making a lightly hopped lager, then I'll cold crash it to decant the liquid. If I'm making a hoppy beer then I usually pitch the whole thing.

 

[Valvefan]

Allowing the starter to propagate at room temp rather than chilling seems logical to me.

I'll pitch the tube of yeast into 1 L of wort made from DME 48 hours before brew day.

Thanks everyone for offering your advice.

Valvefan