How to make a yeast starter - Pictorial

[MarcdiMaria]

Yes I also think that to achieve good growth phase and like some people say "fermentation", it is not enough to just adding sugar and specialty products.

 

[joebob296]

This is a really stupid question. What is the process of decant? You make a starter, put it in the fridge overnight, pour out (down the drain?) the liquid leaving just enough to get the yeast in suspension again. Then pitch the remainder at room temp when ready?

 

[mtnagel]

That is correct.

 

[coldbrewnoob]

I'm reading been reading a lot on yeast starters, but to me they seem much more difficult to get right, and keep them from becoming infected, or mutating.

Do you find tempreture are more critical w a starter vs a batch of beer?

 

[coldbrewnoob]

I had this idea (I'm sure I'm not the first). After pouring my beer into a glass, I noticed about 1/2 oz of beer and yeast on the bottom Of my bottle. So I saved them from many bottles into one bottle. By the time I was done w a batch of beer I accumulated 2 16oz bottles of beer and yeast. Can I use this to
Make a yeast starter, or is it only good as a boiled yeast nutrient?

Does anyone save the yeast and tiny bit of beer from a previous batch?

 

[NTXBrauer]

I'm reading been reading a lot on yeast starters, but to me they seem much more difficult to get right, and keep them from becoming infected, or mutating.

Do you find tempreture are more critical w a starter vs a batch of beer?

You are probably overthinking this. When I make a starter, they always kick off better at room temperature (around 72~ F), and after 36-48 hours, are ready to pitch. I only focus on temperature control when I am fermenting a batch of beer. It will take longer to get a starter rolling in cooler temps. Cheers!

 

[kaconga]

I had this idea (I'm sure I'm not the first). After pouring my beer into a glass, I noticed about 1/2 oz of beer and yeast on the bottom Of my bottle. So I saved them from many bottles into one bottle. By the time I was done w a batch of beer I accumulated 2 16oz bottles of beer and yeast. Can I use this to
Make a yeast starter, or is it only good as a boiled yeast nutrient?

Does anyone save the yeast and tiny bit of beer from a previous batch?

You can use this yeast, however it has a much greater risk of contamination than vials or yeast from the fermenter. Think of how ground beef is more prone to infection than steak.

 

[kaconga]

I'm reading been reading a lot on yeast starters, but to me they seem much more difficult to get right, and keep them from becoming infected, or mutating.

Do you find tempreture are more critical w a starter vs a batch of beer?

Starters are really easy, just follow basic sanitation practices and you will have a great starter. The temp question is tricky, it really depends on how you are going to use the starter. If you decant then you can ignore temp control as the yeast will grow fastest at 90*F. If you want to pitch at high krausen then you need to have the starter within 5*F of the wort you are pitching into. Within those two extremes lies a whole range of possibilities and I believe that using sound judgement of what kind of flavors you are working with should dictate what you do.

 

[coldbrewnoob]

Interesting thanks!

 

[cincybrewer]

Can someone tell me how soon is too soon to pitch a starter? I made a starter last night and plan to brew this morning. Is that too quick of a turnaround to pitch it? Should I wait at least 24 hours? Thanks!

 

[flars]

A small starter made on a stir plate can be done in 12 to 18 hours. The same starter made by the intermittent shaking method may take at least 24 to 36 hours.
Some brewers say that pitching their starter at the peak of activity, or high krausen, works the best. Drawback to this is the entire starter wort needs to be pitched into the beer.
You can keep your wort chilled and pitch later if you are very sure of your sanitation.

 

[bragona71]

A small starter made on a stir plate can be done in 12 to 18 hours. The same starter made by the intermittent shaking method may take at least 24 to 36 hours.
Some brewers say that pitching their starter at the peak of activity, or high krausen, works the best. Drawback to this is the entire starter wort needs to be pitched into the beer.
You can keep your wort chilled and pitch later if you are very sure of your sanitation.

ok here is my question I never had answered.

how long will the starter last at room temp on the stir plate?
I made a starter on sat afternoon left it on stir plate until sunday.I was hoping to not brew sunday and brew Monday but never got an answer so I brewed sunday to be safe

 

[helibrewer]

ok here is my question I never had answered.

how long will the starter last at room temp on the stir plate?
I made a starter on sat afternoon left it on stir plate until sunday.I was hoping to not brew sunday and brew Monday but never got an answer so I brewed sunday to be safe

The starter will last several days at least, longer if your sanitation is very good. If you have a few days, cold crash the starter and decant off the beer.

 

[Pyg]

Noob question,
but do I need a Starter?

 

[flars]

ok here is my question I never had answered.

how long will the starter last at room temp on the stir plate?
I made a starter on sat afternoon left it on stir plate until sunday.I was hoping to not brew sunday and brew Monday but never got an answer so I brewed sunday to be safe

You can make a starter two to three weeks in advance. Let the starter finish and then refrigerate. There will be very little viability loss in that time period.

 

[fun4stuff]

I was hoping to get some clarification on making a starter to make sure i'm understanding the online calculator correctly, as I'm new to beer brewing and never made a starter.

I will be following a tripel recipe and plan to have a OG of 1.073 (6 gallons). I don't have a stir plate.

According to yeastcalc.co, I'll need about 403 billion yeasties.

http://www.yeastcalc.co/yeast-pitch-...ter-calculator

So to make a 2 L starter, I'd dissolve 8.05 oz DME in 2 L water and then boil, cool, add yeast as described in original post.

According to the calculator, I would only have ~205 billion cells after ~24 hrs.

So I would then refrigerate the starter overnight, decant the next morning, allow to come to room temp.

Again add 8.05 oz DME to slightly less than 2L water and prepare as described in original post. After cooling to 70-80 degrees, pitch yeast slurry from solution above (what is left after decant and coming to room temp).

Then after an additional 24 hrs, according to the calculator I'd have > 400 billion yeasties.

Is this correct?

 

[mtnagel]

Yes, that is all correct. If you have a big enough container, you can put everything from the first step into the second step so that you don't have to cold crash the first step. But either way works.

 

[mtnagel]

So does everyone boil their starters for 10-15 minutes? I read on http://brulosophy.com/ that he only boils his starters for only a couple minutes so I started doing that too. I love it because I don't have to make a bigger volume to account for the boil off and it's just quicker and I don't have to monitor for boil overs for 15 mins.

 

[fun4stuff]

So does everyone boil their starters for 10-15 minutes? I read on http://brulosophy.com/ that he only boils his starters for only a couple minutes so I started doing that too. I love it because I don't have to make a bigger volume to account for the boil off and it's just quicker and I don't have to monitor for boil overs for 15 mins.

I've been doing a lot of reading on yeast starters too lately. It seems to be all over the place. Most sources recommend 5-25 mins. Then, a lot of people on here say it's ok to add late additions of extract during the last few minutes of boil for extract brews.

I think if you're just concerned about water purification and killing wild yeast and bacteria, then you just need at most a minute as they are killed instantly at 212 degrees. Most sources recommend boiling water for ~1 minute to make it safe to drink.

http://www.healthunit.org/water/bwa_faq.html

 

[fun4stuff]

Yes, that is all correct. If you have a big enough container, you can put everything from the first step into the second step so that you don't have to cold crash the first step. But either way works.

yeah I was wondering about this, but then would I have to add more DME to bring the SG up to 1.040? If 2L step one ferments down to nearly 1.0 and I had 2L of 1.040 for step 2, the SG would fall to 1.020?

 

[flars]

So does everyone boil their starters for 10-15 minutes? I read on http://brulosophy.com/ that he only boils his starters for only a couple minutes so I started doing that too. I love it because I don't have to make a bigger volume to account for the boil off and it's just quicker and I don't have to monitor for boil overs for 15 mins.

I bring the water I'm using for the starter to a boil in a covered pot, reduce the heat to just hold a low boil. I let it boil for about 5 minutes to sterilize the pot. Remove from heat, add DME and stir to dissolve. Return to heat to bring a low boil back, and immediately remove from heat for water bath cooling.

It is more likely a contaminant will be on the pot used, than in the DME. A temp of 160°+ is sufficient to pasteurize the DME. I just go a little warmer because it doesn't involve more than a minute of time.

 

[flars]

yeah I was wondering about this, but then would I have to add more DME to bring the SG up to 1.040? If 2L step one ferments down to nearly 1.0 and I had 2L of 1.040 for step 2, the SG would fall to 1.020?

You are correct, step two of 2 liters would be diluted by the 2 liters of step one which no longer has fermentable sugars in solution.
Container size limits is the main reason for decanting spent wort between steps.

If you decant, after the starter is complete, but not before all of the yeast has dropped out of suspension, the decanted wort is saved and cold crashed to recover the yeast which will then drop out of suspension.

Doing this will mean step two will have fewer yeast cells, but if the starter was built for a small over pitch condition, this may make no difference.

 

[schattz]

question, I don't see in buying a 20 dollar flask other than you can boil it am I missing something ? besides being able to put it on a maelstrom in which I don't have

 

[mtnagel]

If you use a stir plate, you need a flat bottom and most containers aren't flat and the stir bar will spin off. With an Erlenmeyer flask it's less of an issue. With that said, I found a plastic 1 gallon container with a flat bottom that I use to make big starters but I'd prefer to use glass due to contamination issues with plastic. I don't even boil in my flask. Seems risky to me.

 

[DanPoch]

It's mostly the flat bottom for the stir plate. With most houses having an electric stove, or 'cook-top' stove, you can't boil in the flask anyway. They are not supposed to be used directly on an electric heating element. I got mine for the flat bottom and also because if it's at room temperature I can pour my boiled wort into it without it shattering into pieces.

 

[skepace]

Sorry to bring this one back up. As I am using a stir plate for my 1L, will it still have Krausen?

 

[liljohn]

It's mostly the flat bottom for the stir plate. With most houses having an electric stove, or 'cook-top' stove, you can't boil in the flask anyway. They are not supposed to be used directly on an electric heating element. I got mine for the flat bottom and also because if it's at room temperature I can pour my boiled wort into it without it shattering into pieces.

Anyone have any more information on why not to boil directly in the flask on an electric stove? I had though that was one of the reasons to use the flask.

Nevermind, I found this post here.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=1694793#post1694793
Glass top and ceramic tops stoves should be fine, it's electric coils that you need to be concerned with.

 

[CA_Mouse]

Sorry to bring this one back up. As I am using a stir plate for my 1L, will it still have Krausen?

This will depend on the yeast strain. A vast majority of mine have a krausen even while on the stir plate.

 

[skepace]

Thanks!

 

[spokehead]

i thought this picture might help out some newbies. found it on another forum.

MORE INFO:​

Most starters are made as "1 L" starters, meaning they use a 1L flask or container. Since sizes vary, you may wish to measure more accurately to get the desired propagation of yeast.

Instead of using 1/2 cup of DME, try just using 1/4-1/3 cup to make a lower gravity wort. This helps the yeast get active quickly, and they go through their aerobic stage, eating oxygen and reproducing, rather than producing alcohol.

If you want to be a bit more specific, make a ~1.020 OG starter; use about 2 oz of DME in a final liquid volume (before adding yeast) of 800 mL. This works great in a 1L flask.

You will usually need to top off after your boil with some water to reach the right volume. I just top off with some freshly opened bottled water so it stays relatively sanitary.

Instead of an airlock, use some sanitized aluminum foil. This allows oxygen to get in and feed the yeast. Swirl the liquid every once in a while to keep those yeast busy. I usually just set it on the counter or desk and shake it every time I pass it. Swirl slowly at first so you don't foam over!

This method can be used the day of brewing. It's best to do it the night before, but getting a starter going in the morning or even a few hours before you brew will ensure that your yeast are awake and ready to rock once you're ready to pitch.

STEPPING IT UP:​

There are two basic ways you can pitch a starter:

1. Just pitch the whole thing. This is most beneficial when the yeast are at peak fermentation, happily chugging away and ready for more.

2. Decanting. After your yeast goes for about 24 hours and is finished fermenting, you throw it in the fridge overnight. Then, the day you brew, bring the yeast out, decant (pour out) the liquid, and let it warm up for a few hours before you pitch.

If you want to "step it up" and make more yeast, then I would recommend using decanting, as follows:

1. Make a starter, let's say 1L. So boil 2 oz of DME in two cups water. Top off to 800 mL. Add liquid yeast and foil, and shake for 24 hours.

2. Put starter in fridge overnight.

3. The next morning, remove from fridge and decant. Keep sanitary and let warm to room temperature.

4. Make another larger starter, let's say 2L. So boil 4 oz of DME in 4 cups water. Top off to 1600 mL. Add liquid yeast and foil, and shake for 24 hours.

5. Put starter in fridge overnight.

6. The next morning, remove from fridge and decant. Keep sanitary and let warm to room temperature.

7. Pitch into beer that day or repeat until you have the amount of yeast you want.

If you want to store yeast for a short time, decant and put the yeast into a smaller container so it fills it almost all the way up. Then add an airlock. Make sure everything that touches the yeast is clean and sanitary.


EDIT: This is my new favorite yeast calculator:

http://yeastcalc.co/

Greetings. I've made a starter with a White Labs Kolsch yeast that has an expiration date that is thirty days past to be sure it is still vigorous. I assume that if it is still good I should get a nice development of Kreusen within some reasonable period of time. Is that correct?

Many thanks
John