Making a Starter

[Queequeg]

Whilst reading John Palmer's how to brew today I noticed he suggests if you pitch a starter at high krausen that the start worts sugar profile should be as close to the main worts as possible, i.e make sure is contains maltose.

But this got me thinking. Has anybody here tired steeping some of the grains they are going to use in the main batch in the preperation of the starter wort. This wouldn't take much extra effort and would certainly prepare the yeast as best a possible short of making an actual batch. You also would only need a small amount of grain.

If anyone has tried this did they see any noticable benifit? My feeling is for most beers that wouldn't be worth the effort but perhapes it would be for those with very high gravity, conmplex malt bills or those rich in adjuncts. Being that a wort made form DME isn't really anything like a beer with such grain bill.

 

[dozer5454]

IE: using two row to make a make a yeast starter? I have done this a bunch of times. The use of a pressure cooker has even allowed me to make sterile wort for yeast starters. Or was my answer way off the mark?

 

[Queequeg]

yeah using 2-row would make sense. I was more thinking of steeping the speciality malts/adjuncts before adding the DME since 2-row would need an actually mash.

 

[Odin_Brews]

You'll need to use a base malt so you get fermentable sugars into your starter for your yeast to eat. You could do a mini biab with 2 row and specialty malts, but I think you're going to need that base malt 2 row.

 

[smccarter]

What I've been doing recently....

Since I live in Florida, and tap water temp is around 72 degrees, I use my immersion chiller to cool my wort to about 72, then move it to a carboy, put an airlock on it and set it aside for the evening. I keep the temp in the house at about 68 when I brew, so the wort cools to 68 over night.

At some point during the process, I pull a liter or so out of the wort for my starter. I put the starter on the stir plate and pitch the yeast. I let it go for 24 to 48 hours then pitch the starter in the carboy.

Not sure this is technically correct, but it's been working well for me.

 

[Cottonmouth]

IE: using two row to make a make a yeast starter? I have done this a bunch of times. The use of a pressure cooker has even allowed me to make sterile wort for yeast starters. Or was my answer way off the mark?

Is a pressure cooker necessary?

 

[Odin_Brews]

Is a pressure cooker necessary?

Curious as well, my last batch I did a little extra sparge, collected and boiled 20 minutes and threw in the fridge. Figured I could just toss the yeast when Im ready.

 

[mikescooling]

Is a pressure cooker necessary?

To make starter wart a pressure cooker (pressure cooker is meant cook food) is not necessary, but if you want to pressure can the wart you need a pressure canner. The nice thing about having canned wart, it's ready to go anytime you want, you don't have to boil anything. It's more of a thing that's easy to do if your have 1.03-1.04 third runnings in an AG brew.

 

[dozer5454]

Yeah, I got a little over geek there. I will usually take about 3lbs of 2row and crush it. Then mash enough water to get it to 1.040. From there I can it with the pressure cooker and store it on the shelf. That way there is a sterile starter any time I want to brew or build up a yeast culture.