Questions about starter

[tomman]

I'm trying to improvise a container to make my starter in, and I see a lot of talk of using an airlock. But I also see a lot of talk about the importance of continued airation. So what should I be doing? I also have seen some talk of just covering a bottle with foil so as to not be airtight, but wouldnt this cause problems when you shake the starter for airation?

Thanks for any tips.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

From what I gathered through my research is this is one of those topics where if you ask 10 different brewers, you will get 10 different answers. There are ways that "work" and ways that "work the best". IMHO, the optimum way would be to have a stir plate and a source of constant aeration, while just a loosely covered jar on the counter for a couple days does close to the same thing, though not as efficiently.

 

[Blender]

Read this write up and decide for yoursef what is best. >>http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/MB_Raines_Guide_to_Yeast_Culturing.php

 

[SenorWanderer]

+1

in the end the point is to increase the cell count of viable yeast. if you pour your yeast into some sugary water they will multiply and increase there cell count. big breweries want to make the exact same beer every time (repeatability) and so they do lots of stuff to make sure they pitch a very accurate amount of very viable yeast every time. you can find a pitch rate calculator here that will help you pitch the optimal amount of yeast.

the first starter i made was in a 1/2 gallon mason jar with the lid screwed on loosely. i haven't gotten much fancier. the idea behind constant aeration is that yeast go through 2 basic stages in their life. when oxygen is available they use it to multiply (aerobic reproduction). once they're out of oxygen the go into anaerobic reproduction, which is much less efficient for them, so they start producing by-products like alcohol, and eventually get tired and go dormant. if you continue to supply oxygen they never get tired and just keep on multiplying, thus super high cell counts and very healthy yeast. i usually just give the starter a swirl when i walk by, decant the beer on top after it's settled and pitch the slurry on the bottom, and have very healthy fermentations. good luck.

 

[drayman86]

I use an Erlenmyer flask to boil the wort, then cool overnight at room temp. Prior to pitching, I aerate with an aquarium pump through a filter for about 30 minutes. Pitch, cover loosely with foil, and set on stir plate. Starter goes about 30 hours prior to brewing, and my fermentation lag time is just a few hours.

 

[Evan!]

a gallon jug with an airlock (I use an airlock for visual confirmation that the yeast are doing something) works fine...I use either a glass knudsen's apple juice jug or a plastic gallon water jug. If you don't have a stir plate (I don't), you can just agitate it every so often by swirling the jug around.