I Love Making Yeast Starters

[phendog]

Since my closest HomeBrew Store is now nearly 40mins away, I've been buying & brewing pretty much exclusively with dry yeast ordered from Amazon. However, for some brews I'll make the drive for fresh White Labs.

Making a 4L starter of WLP500 for my annual New Years Day Belgian Triple Brew Day. (10gal)

BeerSmith says I need 557 Billion - the 4L starter will give me 784 Billion. When using liquid yeast, I've been over building my starters pretty significantly. I find my beers are cleaner and attenuate better with big starters. Gonna run this slow at ~63degs for the first 96hrs and then bump up two degrees every day until 70degs. I'll let it sit on the cake for nearly 30 days.

 

[brownni5]

My nearest home brew store is more than a 2-hour drive. Ok, there's a wine making about 40 minutes away, but they have so little in the way of brewing that I don't consider them. So, all my brewing is done with starters or dry packs (also from Amazon!). But since I hate dry yeast, starter it is! I love starters too - I could watch my stir plate all day... It's like a mini brew!

 

[OpenSights]

My LHBS is under two miles. Just posted on our club FB page asking for a one on one lesson as I’m planning on attempting my first AG by the end of the week. I’m sure I can wing a starter, and have had numerous replies and advice. Most don’t harvest the turb, but one plans on starting for bread making. I’ll be following this thread for learning.

 

[phendog]

Curious why you hate dry yeast. My limited access to a LCBS has caused me to appreciate dry yeast a bit more and to really like a few of them. I see no difference between US05 and WLP 001. K97 is now my go to for Blonde Ales and Kolsch Style's and Danstar Belle Saison is a solid performer. If i'm brewing a Belgian style or an English style beer I'll go liquid and make a starter.

 

[brewbama]

Curious why you hate dry yeast. My limited access to a LCBS has caused me to appreciate dry yeast a bit more and to really like a few of them. I see no difference between US05 and WLP 001. K97 is now my go to for Blonde Ales and Kolsch Style's and Danstar Belle Saison is a solid performer. If i'm brewing a Belgian style or an English style beer I'll go liquid and make a starter.

I agree. Dry yeast is somehow thought to be inferior but I’ve had great results with it. Never has a pack not perform as advertised, it’s half price compared to liquid, and is easier to use. What’s not to like?!?!

 

[OpenSights]

Interesting. My first AG calls for “White Labs 001 California Yeast (with large starter)” I’ve always had good luck with us-05.

 

[brownni5]

I always experience long lag times with dry yeast, even when following label instructions. I don't see a difference in quality of finished product, but I'm an impatient man. I also make a lot of Saisons - to my knowledge, there's no dry Dupont option!

I don't consider dry yeast an inferior product, but there are many things I still don't like about it. All that said, I'll probably try dry yeast for my next Tripel.

 

[jack13]

Slightly off topic, but still about yeast starters...

In my experience it takes a long time for the yeast to settle after fermentation is done. People talk about crashing the starter overnight to decant. That never works for me. If I crashed overnight and decanted I'd be tossing out half the yeast, defeating the purpose. Recently I crashed a starter in my fridge (38F) for a couple days, then moved to chest freezer at 30F for a couple more. Still was a lot of yeast suspended.

Sure, decanting is not necessary, but I prefer to do so. This post is just about relaying my experience with yeast settling in a starter that seems very different from others I've read about. One issue of course is the type of yeast, but this applies to all starters I've done, which covers many yeasts.

I recently mentioned this to a friend, who suggested it may be the shape of my vessel (a regular gallon carboy). Any other thoughts?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Slightly off topic, but still about yeast starters...

In my experience it takes a long time for the yeast to settle after fermentation is done. People talk about crashing the starter overnight to decant. That never works for me. If I crashed overnight and decanted I'd be tossing out half the yeast, defeating the purpose. Recently I crashed a starter in my fridge (38F) for a couple days, then moved to chest freezer at 30F for a couple more. Still was a lot of yeast suspended.

Sure, decanting is not necessary, but I prefer to do so. This post is just about relaying my experience with yeast settling in a starter that seems very different from others I've read about. One issue of course is the type of yeast, but this applies to all starters I've done, which covers many yeasts.

I recently mentioned this to a friend, who suggested it may be the shape of my vessel (a regular gallon carboy). Any other thoughts?

This might be a dumb idea, but could you add a flocculant when making the starter to help the yeast drop out faster?

I usually dont go larger then 2L with starters, and only decant about 50% unless the yeast drop really well. In that case I'll pour off most of the liquid and swirl it up with some of the fresh wort I'll be pitching it into.

 

[catdaddy66]

I love making yeast starters as well. Dry yeast is good but when I began with yeast starters (and temp controlled fermentation) my beer quality improved by 25-50% immediately.

It allows me to keep a non frozen yeast supply also. I have about a dozen varieties I work through but have my go to varieties also, like chico (wlp001, BRY-97, wlp090) and Westmalle (trappist/Belgian).

 

[MaxStout]

I decant as much as I can, as that spent wort is nasty and I want to limit how much of it goes into the fermenter. I leave about 300-400ml in the flask--enough to swirl it before pitching.

 

[Rev2010]

I'm the opposite, I hate making yeast starters. I don't like the extra work nor do I like either diluting my beer with 1L of DME yeast starter wort or having to cold crash and decant first to then warm it up before pitching. Instead I moved over to using dry yeast for a good portion of my brews. I still use liquid yeast for my Belgian Wit's, Hefeweizen's, and a few others, but for my amber, IPA, Coconut Porter, Pumpkin Ale's and such I just use dry yeast - most often Nottingham. Works so wonderfully and I'm fine with just pitching one pack. And for the beer's I use liquid yeast I pretty much always just use one pack with no issues at all. If for some reason the pack is past 6-8 weeks old then I'll do a starter, but I generally order when I know I'm going to brew so it doesn't sit around.


Rev.

 

[balrog]

Making 1.5L starter tonight for Saturday brew. Starter will be done by Friday AM, at which point it comes off the stir plate to fridge. 24hr later, I'll have thick layer of yeast on bottom of my gallon jug, I'll decant about 1/2L, swirl the rest, save 1/3 to be saving ~100b, pitching ~200b. Do this every time without issue.

There is, I am sure, yeast in suspension. It's neither clear nor is it cloudy.

 

[Jayjay1976]

@phendog I love making starters too; on weeknights when I feel a hankerin' to do a little something beer-related, whipping up a starter takes just enough time to relax and take my mind off of business, and I can make one in the kitchen while my wife is cooking so we have some time to chit chat. Watching my trusty Corning lab stirplate spin up is mesmerizing and I love sniffing the beery smells coming from under the tinfoil.

I'm back, just pulled out my flask and whipped up a starter to propagate some Kölsch slurry I saved back in June to use this Friday.

 

[KIDD69]

Curious if anyone has used canned condensed wort to make your starters. I just bought 2 cans of Propper Starter, but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I don’t mind making starters but it looks like a time saving, less messy(less smelly?) alternative to using DME.

Propper Starter concentrated wort makes it easy to give your yeast the proper start when preparing high gravity brews, cold-pitched lagers, yeast packs nearing expiration and whenever a starter is recommended. No more measuring messy DME. No more waiting to boil and cool. Just mix one can with an equal amount of purified water in a sanitized flask to produce one liter of ready starter wort. For increasing biomass and vitality in your yeast, Prop It Up with a can of Propper Starter! Recommended Use: One (1) can of Propper Starter makes one liter (1L) starter.

 

[GnenieGone]

As many of you I also love yeast starters. But I use a different method. I'll brew a lighter and smaller version of whatever. Dubbel to Quad. Brown to RIS. If I'm going to go through the trouble of yeast propagation, might as well get some beer out if it.

 

[Jayjay1976]

As many of you I also love yeast starters. But I use a different method. I'll brew a lighter and smaller version of whatever. Dubbel to Quad. Brown to RIS. If I'm going to go through the trouble of yeast propagation, might as well get some beer out if it.

What a neat idea! I'm always temped to hop my starters so I can decant off into a jar to finish out, then throw it in my half gallon ukeg to carbonate and enjoy. I should miniaturize one of my standby recipes, that way I can also compare each yeast strain in a common base beer. Heck, I can even try out different hops this way. Thanks @PianoMan for the idea!

 

[GnenieGone]

What a neat idea! I'm always temped to hop my starters so I can decant off into a jar to finish out, then throw it in my half gallon ukeg to carbonate and enjoy. I should miniaturize one of my standby recipes, that way I can also compare each yeast strain in a common base beer. Heck, I can even try out different hops this way. Thanks @PianoMan for the idea!

I bottle or keg the 1st beer while the next is chilling. Just dump on the yeast cake. Done 3x beers with same starting yeast. I've heard others have done 5 without any perceived issues but I tend to be conservative. Easy Peasy...but you can make ALOT of beer quickly. That's why I'll do darker beers so they can age with no issues.

 

[jack13]

This might be a dumb idea, but could you add a flocculant when making the starter to help the yeast drop out faster?

Ha! Never thought of that. I shall give it a shot!

 

[brewswithshoes]

Curious if anyone has used canned condensed wort to make your starters. I just bought 2 cans of Propper Starter, but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I don’t mind making starters but it looks like a time saving, less messy(less smelly?) alternative to using DME.

View attachment 605420
Propper Starter concentrated wort makes it easy to give your yeast the proper start when preparing high gravity brews, cold-pitched lagers, yeast packs nearing expiration and whenever a starter is recommended. No more measuring messy DME. No more waiting to boil and cool. Just mix one can with an equal amount of purified water in a sanitized flask to produce one liter of ready starter wort. For increasing biomass and vitality in your yeast, Prop It Up with a can of Propper Starter! Recommended Use: One (1) can of Propper Starter makes one liter (1L) starter.

Just bought a can as my LHBS started carrying this. Haven't used it yet, but had a good chat with the owner. He said it made a perfect 1 liter 1.040 amount when he tried it.

Probably won't use this for starters everytime but it will be great to use if I forget to whip up a starter with enough lead time or I have a short runway to an unplanned brewday.

 

[brownni5]

Curious if anyone has used canned condensed wort to make your starters. I just bought 2 cans of Propper Starter, but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I don’t mind making starters but it looks like a time saving, less messy(less smelly?) alternative to using DME.

I used the canned wort from Northern Brewer - no complaints. Then I decided to can my own.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Last I heard, US05 and WLP001 is the same strain. Probably why so many people use them interchangeably with good results

 

[SoCal-Doug]

whipped up a starter to propagate some Kölsch slurry

mmmmmm. love a good kolsch. I switched over to Giga-021 from WLP029 and will never look back. brewin up another batch tomorrow and slanting about 5 vials of the yeast.

 

[CTS]

I used the canned wort from Northern Brewer - no complaints. Then I decided to can my own.

I just found out about those proper starters and thought to my self why cant I just can my own? Good to see that you do this as well.

How long does the canned stuff last? I am not new to canning as I do it plenty with our garden every year but it so acidic compared to this sweet wort.

 

[Griffin495]

@phendog I love making starters too; on weeknights when I feel a hankerin' to do a little something beer-related, whipping up a starter takes just enough time to relax and take my mind off of business, and I can make one in the kitchen while my wife is cooking so we have some time to chit chat. Watching my trusty Corning lab stirplate spin up is mesmerizing and I love sniffing the beery smells coming from under the tinfoil.

I'm back, just pulled out my flask and whipped up a starter to propagate some Kölsch slurry I saved back in June to use this Friday.

How much slurry do you need to add to your starter? I've got some slurry from 7/29/18 and need to make a starter with it tonight, but don't know how much to add.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I just found out about those proper starters and thought to my self why cant I just can my own? Good to see that you do this as well.

How long does the canned stuff last? I am not new to canning as I do it plenty with our garden every year but it so acidic compared to this sweet wort.

You'll need to process the jars in a pressure canner because the wort isn't acidic enough for the water bath method.

 

[Jayjay1976]

How much slurry do you need to add to your starter? I've got some slurry from 7/29/18 and need to make a starter with it tonight, but don't know how much to add.

I save slurry in 4oz jars and pitch all of it into a starter, but I guess technically you only need a little bit. Might make more sense to use less in order to leave behind most of the old, tired yeast and make room to grow up fresh new cells.

 

[Griffin495]

Thanks, I've been storing mine in 8oz jars. I'll probably just pitch half this time and see what happens.