First yeast starter, many questions

[bransona]

It's finally that time. I still love my dry yeast, but I wanted westy yeast. Trappist high gravity is waiting in my fridge and dme is in the mail. Now, the problems...

I've never made a starter. I plan on using the MrMalty calculator to set it up. I only brew a gallon and a half at a time, so I'm only gonna need a little yeast (generally a tablespoon or two, depending on yeast density). However, I want to make as big of a starter as possible and save the yeast for later. Can't spend $8 on yeast for one tiny batch. I can't freeze the yeast (no space), so I'm just gonna refrigerate it and use fairly quickly. Anything not used quickly will be made into a new starter later on.

How big of a starter will one smack pack make with half a pound of dme? It's very fresh, so viability is high.

What can I make this in other than a flask? I'm thinking my growler.

Would you recommend saving this in pint jars or 4oz jars? I would think the latter so I can just pitch one jar per brew (maybe a little less for lower gravity belgian styles)

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Warbirdbrewer]

First go to this link and fill in the requested data.

http://www.captainbrew.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator


It does a very good job of calculating the needed yeast cells. I have done dozens of brews using this calculator and have never had a slow or stuck fermentation. I have a flask and a stir plate, however sometimes I am brewing more that one beer at a time, so I will do a second starter in a mason jar. You can also use a growler. Just make sure not to seal up the opening. Just use some sanitized foil to cover the opening.

Keep the starter in a cool place away from direct sunlight, and go give it a swirl every now and then. Be sure to set in it a pan or on some plastic wrap in case it overflows while it's fermenting.

Most people store extra yeast in their fridge in mason jars.

Good Luck

Patrick
Grand Prairie, TX

 

[TennBrewer]

I've been making yeast starters for a little over a year now, about 40 batches. I am no expert, unlike some of the other members in this group, but I have had very good success with mine. What I usually do is make a little extra starter, then save about a half liter to make a new starter in the future.

A half a pound of DME will make a lot of starter, you don't need that much.

Give the smack pack a good smack, really hard, don't worry you won't break it, and shake it up to mix the nutrient. After a few hours the bag should swell, lets you know the yeast is viable. Next, make the starter wort. Generally speaking, I use about 100 grams of DME for every liter of starter I want to make, try to keep the SG around 1.035 - 1.037 no matter what the OG beer your planning to make. Anything higher will overstress the yeast and the results will vary. In your case, one liter of starter will be plenty, so mix 100 grams (0.22 pounds) with a liter of water and boil for about 10 minutes. Let it cool before pitching the yeast, I usually cool it somewhere in the 70's degree range, not too hot, not too cool. You can pour the wort into a growler large enough (~2L) to hold it all, a clear one if you have it, else not too dark glass. Add the yeast per package instructions, then sanitize a piece of aluminum foil and crimp it over the top. You don't want to seal it with a cap and don't use an airlock, the foil will be fine and lets some of the gases escape. Keep the jug somewhere out of direct sunlight and make sure to shake it up to help oxygenate the yeast. Not sure of the duration or the frequency, I have a stir plate so it's constantly in motion. Shaken once or twice an hour should be plenty, it's ok to let it sit overnight, get some sleep. It will ferment and build a krausen on top then falls when it's over, this usually takes about 24 to 36 hours depending on the yeast. When it's finished sanitize a pint jar and cover and fill with the starter mixture, give it some swirl to keep all the yeast in suspension and give an even pour. Mark the pint jar with the type of yeast, generation number (start with 2), and the date you made the starter. Put in the fridge and keep cool. This should cause the yeast to drop out of suspension and form a nice creamy, off-white layer on the bottom. On brew day, take the growler out of the fridge and let it come to pitching temperature. If you decant some of the beer off the yeast, it will warm up a little quicker, I usually perform this step when I start my boil. When you're ready to pitch the starter, make sure the starter and the wort you're going to pour it into are nearly the same temperature, a degree or two difference isn't bad. Mix well, oxygenate it by shaking it up or adding O2, and you're done. You can repeat this process with the pint of starter you stowed away to make another starter for a future batch. As long as you keep the starter yeast cold and in its own beer, it should be ok for quite awhile. Of course, it will lose some viability over time but I've used some yeast I've kept for over 8 months and it turned out fine. You may want to limit the number of generations to maybe five or so, every generation contains mutations and this can change the behavior of the yeast which may affect your beer. Good luck.

 

[bransona]

A liter seems like a ton for a gallon and a half. I guess I'll make a liter and save it in a few containers, then make another starter with the last one and repeat for three or four generations.

 

[Revvy]

If you're only making a gallon of beer, you are essentially making a starter. It really isn't necessary for your beer...you can always use more depending on the gravity of the beer.

The other option is to make a huge starter using all the yeast, use only a tiny about for you batch, and jar and fridge the rest of the starter in mason jars to use later. A lot of us just harvest the yeast from our fermenters for use later.

It seems like you're going to be dealing with tiny amounts of yeast to even make the starter...not really worth it.

 

[Calder]

It really doesn't seem worth it to make a starter. I have made starters that are approaching the size of your brews.

I think you have two options:

1) Simplest of all, pitch all the yeast in brew and harvest the slurry, store slurry in mason jar, and then re-use a third to half in a subsequent brew. Most recommendations are to store and re-use in a week, but I have found a month is OK (store in fridge). No need to mess with washing, unless there is a lot of crap in the trub.

2) Make a small starter, about a liter, pitch half, and save the other half for later. Can be saved in a mason jar. Let he yeast drop, pour off excess liquid and you can store it in an 8 oz mason jar. I have stored yeast from starters for as long as 2 years and have had no issues making new starters from them.