How much Yeast Nutrient in a 1L starter?

[kingmatt]

Hey guys and gals, I am about to brew up an Irish Red and will be making my starter either tomorrow or Thursday for my brew day on Friday. Last time I was at my LHBS I picked up some Wyeast Nutrient and am planning on adding it to my starter. The directions say to add 1/2 tsp per 5 gallons of wort, but I think this is referring to when you add it directly to your boil, not to your starter.

How much nutrient should I add to my starter, the whole 1/2 tsp or less since I am only making up 1L and pitching the whole thing?

 

[TipsyDragon]

you add less of course. hardly any as a matter of fact. what ever is the smallest amount you can add will probably be enough.

 

[kingmatt]

you add less of course. hardly any as a matter of fact. what ever is the smallest amount you can add will probably be enough.

hmmm, seems to defeat the purpose of using it if I only put a tiny bit in. Would it be better to just add the 1/2 tsp to the wort instead of using it in the starter?

 

[TipsyDragon]

thats what i would do.

 

[BeerJorge]

I've never had the need to add yeast nutrient to my starters... normally it is used when brewing a high gravity beer and need a gallon starter or so...

 

[ClassicXJ]

I use the Wyeast nutrient in my starters too. I end up using about 1/4 teaspoon in a 1500ml starter. If the starter sits in the fridge for more than a couple days to decant then I also use some nutrient in the boil itself.

Using this method and the washed yeast I keep in the fridge I usally have airlock activity within 6-8 hours of pitching.

 

[brewfreeordie]

So that's a teaspoon on the directions instead of a tablespoon......

Guess I've got another reason to guess why my starter is taking so long to get going. I'm guessing I added about 5x the necessary amount to my 2l starter. Such a large amount of what is basically salt will tend to slow down the fermentation (assuming salt has the same effect in wort as it does in bread).

 

[bobbrews]

I see no harm in guesstimating and adding a small pinch of nutrient to a starter. But it is not really necessary unless your starter is humungous. Add the nutrient to the boil of your main volume of wort instead.