First starter - Should I be concerned?

[pwnshop]

I have a feeling this is a RDWHAHB situation, but I feel compelled to ask just to make sure.

I did my first starter last night (have always used dry yeast) and I have a couple questions/concerns.

I made the starter and put it in a 1 gallon glass carboy. I shook the hell out of it to aerate it and then put the yeast in. covered the top with sanitized piece of foil and covered with a shirt. I then left the house for about 4 hours. When I returned home there was a layer of yeast on the bottom and no krausen or anything up top. Did it just finish in 4 hours? temp in the room is about 70. I swirled it up and left it over night and when i woke up this morning the yeast had settled out again.

Since I have never done a starter before I just don't know if this is typical behaviour?

Also I used 1.6L of water to 135 grams of DME. I boiled for 10 minutes. First of all is this the wrong ratio? I did not measure the gravity... I just did what the LHBS said to do, but after looking it up online this seems wrong. Did I make a wort that is too low in gravity points?

Thanks guys

 

[mdindy]

that sounds normal to me, the yeast will floc to the bottom after you shake it. I wouldn't stress over it.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Perfectly normal. The gravity should be okay. The usual ratio is 10:1, which produces a 1.038 wort IIRC. As long as you are between 1.030 and 1.040, you'll be fine. If you are outside of this range, you'll still be okay, but you may get reduced growth (low end) or vitality (high end, unlikely).

 

[flars]

Your starter OG was 1.030 to 1.032. This not far from what is considered a normal starter of 1.036. Your ratio of water to DME is good. This is the starter pitch rate calculator I use more often.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

Swirl your starter wort as often as possible to add oxygen. This will speed the growth phase of the yeast to finish the starter sooner.

 

[pwnshop]

Thanks everyone!

Your starter OG was 1.030 to 1.032. This not far from what is considered a normal starter of 1.036. Your ratio of water to DME is good.

Can you explain to me how you calculated the OG of the starter wort?

Thanks for the link that will come in handy next time!

 

[flars]

Thanks everyone!



Can you explain to me how you calculated the OG of the starter wort?

Thanks for the link that will come in handy next time!

In screen two of the Brewers Friend calculator, I entered 1.6 liters as the volume of your starter, then changed the starter wort OG until it matched the weight of the DME used.
Select the "Grab from above" button for the screen to fill with the default values.
I gave a range to account for some possible boil off of the volume.

 

[pwnshop]

In screen two of the Brewers Friend calculator, I entered 1.6 liters as the volume of your starter, then changed the starter wort OG until it matched the weight of the DME used.
Select the "Grab from above" button for the screen to fill with the default values.
I gave a range to account for some possible boil off of the volume.

duh. i feel dumb!

Thanks everyone I feel much better now! cheers

 

[kombat]

In screen two of the Brewers Friend calculator, I entered 1.6 liters as the volume of your starter, then changed the starter wort OG until it matched the weight of the DME used.

Oh come on, that's cheating! Show the man how to do it the hard way.

DME contributes between 40 and 43 PPG (points per pound per gallon). The OP used 135 grams in 1.6L of water. First, convert the units.

There are 454 grams in a pound, so cross multiply and divide to solve for x:

454 g / 1 lb = 135 g / x lb
454 x = 135
x = 135 / 454 = 0.297 lb

Likewise, 1 gallon is 3.79 liters, so:

3.79 L / gallon = 1.6 L / x gallon
3.79x = 1.6
x = 1.6 / 3.79 = 0.422 gallons

Finally, let's say your DME contributed 43 PPG. So the total gravity of your starter was:

43 PPG * 0.297 lb / 0.422 gallons = 30.3

So your O.G. was 1.030.

 

[flars]

Here is a new calculator for really getting into making starters. This one has starter over build calculations. Buy yeast once and still have fresh yeast, yeast that never fermented a beer, for all your next brews, when you save part of the starter.

http://www.homebrewdad.com/yeast_calculator.php

 

[pwnshop]

Here is a new calculator for really getting into making starters. This one has starter over build calculations. Buy yeast once and still have fresh yeast, yeast that never fermented a beer, for all your next brews, when you save part of the starter.

http://www.homebrewdad.com/yeast_calculator.php

This site is awesome! it really spells it all out for you and the explanations are great. This was really informative I wish I had seen it sooner!

Oh come on, that's cheating! Show the man how to do it the hard way.

DME contributes between 40 and 43 PPG (points per pound per gallon). The OP used 135 grams in 1.6L of water. First, convert the units.

There are 454 grams in a pound, so cross multiply and divide to solve for x:

454 g / 1 lb = 135 g / x lb
454 x = 135
x = 135 / 454 = 0.297 lb

Likewise, 1 gallon is 3.79 liters, so:

3.79 L / gallon = 1.6 L / x gallon
3.79x = 1.6
x = 1.6 / 3.79 = 0.422 gallons

Finally, let's say your DME contributed 43 PPG. So the total gravity of your starter was:

43 PPG * 0.297 lb / 0.422 gallons = 30.3

So your O.G. was 1.030.

Thanks for taking the time to show me that. Makes perfect sense!

 

[MattyIce]

Starters are pretty boring compared to normal beer fermentation. Everything is fine. I like to cold crash my starters for a couple days prior to brewing. Seems to yield me a good little starter cake that is easy to decant off of prior to swirling and pitching. Takes a little more forethought (especially if stepping up a large starter), but it is worth it.