How to tell is starter is working??

jjmadden08 · Nov 12, 2007

So i tried to make my first starter last Friday to brew yesterday. Its been about 2 1/2 days and so far there is very little to no action, a couple bubbles coming up off the yeast at the bottom. Should i be seeing more activity? I'm just not sure what i should be seeing and when i will know it is ready to pitch.

boiled 1/2 cup DME with 2 cups water, cooled to about 75 then added American Heff Yeast. and it is sitting at about 68-70 degrees. does this sound OK? or could this ratio/temps be the issue?

Thanks

david_42 · Nov 12, 2007

Growing yeast produces very little CO2. You should be seeing a thick layer of yeast on the bottom of the flask.

malkore · Nov 12, 2007

my starters bubble the airlock for several hours, but mostly you should see a thicker yeast cake in the bottom being created.

jjmadden08 · Nov 12, 2007

Thanks for the reply, i did notice there is a layer on the bottom of the flask. im assuming it should be good to go since it has been sitting for almost 3 days.

ScubaSteve · Nov 12, 2007

1/2 cup DME to 2 cups water is REALLY thick. You don't want to shock the yeast by putting them in such a highly concentrated solution; osmotic pressures can strain the yeast and put them in a less than favorable situation. Just give them a light, easy concentration of wort to get them to store energy and reproduce. 1:10 is supposed to be the magic ratio of dme to water. I recently tried this for the first time, and my started CHEWED through the stout I just made. Search Mrmalty.com as well. There's great info there.

cubbies · Nov 13, 2007

ScubaSteve said:
1/2 cup DME to 2 cups water is REALLY thick. You don't want to shock the yeast by putting them in such a highly concentrated solution; osmotic pressures can strain the yeast and put them in a less than favorable situation. Just give them a light, easy concentration of wort to get them to store energy and reproduce.

I definitely disagree with this statement. I got my info from Palmer and this is the method I use. When using a starter with this method my lag time is typically < 4 hours. There is nothing wrong with the 2 cups water to 1/2 cup DME starter.

From Palmer:

3. On Wednesday (or Tuesday for slants) you will make up a starter wort. Boil a pint (1/2 quart) of water and stir in 1/2 cup of DME. This will produce a starter of about 1.040 OG. Boil this for 10 minutes, adding a little bit of hops if you want to. Put the lid on the pan for the last couple minutes, turn off the stove and let it sit while you prepare for the next step. Adding a quarter teaspoon of yeast nutrient (vitamins, biotin, and dead yeast cells) to the starter wort is always advisable to ensure good growth. It is available from your brewshop.