my first starter

[davis119]

Ill be brewing my 2nd batch Saturday or Sunday. And I need to understand the starter better.

What is the minimum amount of time to let the starter term. Before pitching it.
and I don't Want to use the dme wort because that would change the flavor right?
Should I worry about blowoff in my primary?

 

[bad67z]

I would check out this link, it answer most of the questions I had when I began to make starters.

 

[davis119]

Thanks that did help. But it said to decant after yeast production is completely done. How do I know this? I only have a foam stopper should I go buy a bung. I have an extra air lock. Or should I take hydrom. Readings?

 

[marnel]

Foam stopper is perfect, even tinfoil will work. I think most people will agree 24 hours is prime time to pitch if you don't want to decant, if you want to cold crash and decant 24-36 hours then to the fridge for 24-48 hrs depending on the yeast.

Extra light dme is perfect for starters, and shouldn't affect the taste unless your pitching a 2L + starter.

 

[davis119]

Ok perfect ill just wait 24hours and dump it in. What about blow off I shouldn't have to worry as long as I have enough head space in my bucket right?

 

[BryceL]

I'm also doing my first starter. I'm doing an oktoberfest using WLP820 and made a 4L starter. I've got a nice layer of yeast on the bottom and just put it in the fridge this morning to let it settle for use on Sunday. I've read up on on making the starters, but can't find any info on decanting. Any advice on this? Can I just pour off the liquid, or do I need to siphon? Thanks.

 

[sjbeerman]

Just pour off the liquid and leave enough behind to make a slurry with your yeast then pitch when the starter temp is close to your wort temp. Just be careful that you don't decant any yeast.

 

[davis119]

A 4L starter isn't that alot?

 

[dlaramie08]

It's only a lot if you don't decant the excess liquid, which you should if it's 4L.

 

[BryceL]

Thanks, I'll just carefully pour off most of the liquid then. It is a big starter, that why I want to decant. It's a lager and I plan on cold pitching it, so I need a lot. I double checked on Mr Malty for the pitching rates.

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

A 4L starter isn't that alot?

It's only a lot if you don't decant the excess liquid, which you should if it's 4L.

Depends on the beer gravity, batch size, use of stir plate and so on. But a 4L starter in a 5 gallon of a 1.050 beer is a lot, too much. Just like under pitching you can over pitch. Use Mr. Malty of any yeast calculator to determine the needed quantity. Decanting only removes the excess liquid if you make a 4L starter for a small beer and decant you will still be pitching too much yeast. You could always just pitch half and save the other half for a second beer.

Cheers!

 

[davis119]

Extra light dme is perfect for starters, and shouldn't affect the taste unless your pitching a 2L + starter.

according to mrmalty i need a 2+L starter for a 1.063og beer so should i decant??>

 

[BryceL]

according to mrmalty i need a 2+L starter for a 1.063og beer so should i decant??>

I'm by no means an expert, but most of the opinions I have read suggest decanting if your over 2L for a 5 gallon batch. That just means you have to plan out your brew day in advance so your starter has time to finish up

 

[davis119]

Yeah that's what I read too. But a 1L is supposed to double the wyeast 100 Bil cells and mr malty says I need 218bil so isn't a 1L close enough?

 

[marnel]

Yeah that's what I read too. But a 1L is supposed to double the wyeast 100 Bil cells and mr malty says I need 218bil so isn't a 1L close enough?

Any starter is better than no starter provided you are not over pitching and you are sanitary. I only decant after 2L in a 5 gal batch because at that point the starter is consisting of at least 10% of your finished beer witch is enough to bother me. That isnt to say i wouldnt ever do it, it would just depend on the beer and how much I thought it would affect the flavor. You can always take a little and taste it and determine from there.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk

 

[davis119]

Ok ill be making the starter in a couple hours

 

[Sir-Brews-Alot]

Depends on the beer gravity, batch size, use of stir plate and so on. But a 4L starter in a 5 gallon of a 1.050 beer is a lot, too much. Just like under pitching you can over pitch. Use Mr. Malty of any yeast calculator to determine the needed quantity. Decanting only removes the excess liquid if you make a 4L starter for a small beer and decant you will still be pitching too much yeast. You could always just pitch half and save the other half for a second beer.

Cheers!

Actually for a lager a 4-liter starter is just about right for a 1.050 beer.

 

[davis119]

well i did the starter......... i used 700 ml and 1 cup of dme...... after a slight a boil over i ended up with 600ml of liquid ........ so does this sound ok? whhat should i have done differently? i kinda followed the directions that came with the starer kit . they said 650 ml and 3/4 of a cup and i bumped it up a bit

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

Actually for a lager a 4-liter starter is just about right for a 1.050 beer.

Is he brewing a lager? Since it was noted that it was only his 2nd batch I assumed that he wasn’t brewing a lager but I could be wrong. So yes a lager would require a larger starter if that’s what’s being brewed.

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

well i did the starter......... i used 700 ml and 1 cup of dme...... after a slight a boil over i ended up with 600ml of liquid ........ so does this sound ok? whhat should i have done differently? i kinda followed the directions that came with the starer kit . they said 650 ml and 3/4 of a cup and i bumped it up a bit

You really dont want to bump up the gravity of a starter since you want the yeast to be happy. It should be about 1.040 so 1/2 cup DME per pint of water. As for the boil over did you add the DME to the water cold or when boiling. Addiding DME to boiling water is almost an immediate boil over. Add it to cold water and bring to a boil. You can also use defoamers to help from boiling over.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10388

 

[Sir-Brews-Alot]

Is he brewing a lager? Since it was noted that it was only his 2nd batch I assumed that he wasn’t brewing a lager but I could be wrong. So yes a lager would require a larger starter if that’s what’s being brewed.

Well not the OP but BryceL who mentioned using an 4L starter for his Oktoberfest, which is who I assumed we were responding too.

 

[BryceL]

Yes I am doing a lager. I have the equipment to keep the temps down, so I'm being adventurous!

 

[davis119]

Wait who's thread is this? Lol. Any way the brew is bubbling away

 

[ThatGuyRyan]

Well not the OP but BryceL who mentioned using an 4L starter for his Oktoberfest, which is who I assumed we were responding too.

Yea I didnt see that about the Oktober but good call non the less.

Back to the topic, glad to hear everythiong is going well Davis. Starters will become just another automaited step after a few and the online calculators work well so give them a try.