Do I really need to

smitty8202 · Jan 26, 2015

So I have been looking at recipes for my second ever batch. Some of the ones I am interested in making call for a yeast that requires a yeast starter. Well I don't really understand the whole process as it says use wort and make 24 hours prior. Well if I don't make batches that often how will I have the wort to make it and with my work schedule and family I really don't plan my brew day out I just pretty much decide the day of well at least for my last one. Also is it really required to make a starter or even substitute the yeast for one that doesn't.

LLBeanJ · Jan 26, 2015

Usually, the starter wort is produced by boiling up some DME a few days to a couple of weeks prior to brew day.

In lieu of a starter, you can: use dry yeast (may need more than one packet); or use multiple vials/smack packs of liquid yeast. This can get expensive, so starters make more sense.

What is the yeast your recipe is calling for?

AnOldUR · Jan 26, 2015

smitty8202 said:
. . . I really don't plan my brew day out I just pretty much decide the day of . . .

Dry yeast!

1977Brewer · Jan 26, 2015

Double pitch a suitable dry yeast. 2 packs for a 5 gallon batch.

RandallFlag · Jan 26, 2015

In short, NO. But I can't speak definitively like a lot of the "pros" on this forum, but I have brewed over 10 beers in the past 6 months and have never used anything but packets (sachets) of dry yeast and my beers have gone from good to great as I get more experience under my belt.

Like you, I don't have the time for starters. When I wanna brew, I brew. I don't like waiting and preparing ahead of time.

smitty8202 · Jan 26, 2015

Of the top of my head I don't remember what yeasts. Will using 2 packets of dry yeast make the fermentation time longer since there is mor yeast to ferment.

SnakeRidge · Jan 26, 2015

You definitely don't have to make a starter, but you are either paying for a lot of yeast or not setting yourself up to make the best beer. If you pitch a tube or smack pack of yeast into 5 gallons of wort without a starter, you are most likely under pitching. Depending on the freshness of the yeast, you have much less than the 100 billion cells called for to pitch to 5 gallons of 1.050 wort. One way to get enough yeast is to buy multiple tubes, another is to make a starter. Dry yeasts like Safale US-05 are another way to go.