More Yeast Q's

[pr0cess]

On my last brew I finally made a starter for the yeast. Downside: I had to plan and prepare at least a couple days ahead, Upside: essentially instantanious and vigorous fermentation. Ok fine, so I will plan more gooder in the future, I'm a convert. Now I just need to build an aerator of some kind.

I was searching online to see whats out there that my LHBS doesn't carry and I found several varieties of "yeast nutrient" or "yeast energizer". Is that basically a premixed starter? Should/Could it be used in addition to a starter if it is different?

And finally is there a handy resource someone can point me to that indicates how well specific strains of yeast do in a high alcohol environment?

Thanks,
dylan.

 

[JJL]

Aerating is always helpful, but the easiest way to aerate is just to simply pour your wort back and forth between two buckets. No harm in pitching your starter while it is at high krausen. Energizers and nutrients aren't typically pre-mixes that I am aware of. They are usually just yeast food. I don't use them. I just make a healthy starter and pitch away. No problems.

The best place to go to yeast info that I know of is the manufacturer's website.

 

[BillyBroas]

The nutrients are not a replacement for starters, they are meant to supplement them. They are yeast food, micro nutrients like zinc and amino acids. You can use them to help your yeast grow but they aren't absolutely necessary.

You definitely do need to aerate. Shake the hell out of your starter and it is almost as good as a stir plate.

Here's a high gravity yeast from White Labs. They have tons of good information on their site.