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Starter Explosion, Thoughts?

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Hopper5000

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I don't use a stir plate and usually make simple starters and intermittenly shake them.

I just made a 3L starter (for a 1.056 beer) in a 4L jug with WLP001. I used a different calculator thank my usual mrmalty.com to figure out how much yeast and DME I needed (I used yeastcalc.com this time).

I set the OG at 1.037 and that mean I needed to add about 10.5 OZ of DME (which is more than I would usually put in for the 1/2 cup per Liter) which I did and left it over night. This was on Wednesday.

By yeasterday mid afternoon krausen leaking out of the sides of the tinfoil on top and has continued to do so this morning.

Should I be worried about yeast loss and/or an infection (I have good sanitation techniques so I doubt it's that). I was considering making up another starter a this evening although I am planning on making the beer tomorrow. I will have approximately 24 hours to do its thing.

I think I should probably lower the gravity on the starter next time. Maybe more between 1020 and 1030...?
 
get some fermcap or other foam control next time, works wonders if the kettle and in the fermenter. keep the same wort gravity.
 
do you think i should just go with this starter or make another? thanks for the fermcap idea i will look into it
 
I would still use it, during fermentation that active the net flow out of the container makes it difficult for the baddies to fall in. and you may have lost a little yeast, but I doubt it would be a large % of what you starter generated.
 
You made a 3L starter for a 1.056 OG beer with intermittent shaking? Is this an 11 gallon batch? Otherwise, why???
 
well it's a 5.75 gal batch and that's what it said to make on both yeastcalc.com and mrmalty. I always use the "simple starter" setting because technically intermitten shaking is supposed to be every hour or two which I can not do as I am not home to do it. I can probably shake 2 or 3 times.
 
I make 1.5L starters of about 1.025 and shake less than once an hour, shaking probably once every 2-3 hours, for beers with 1.050-1.070 and have had great results. Plenty of yeast to ferment a 5gallon batch, with strong vigorous fermentation and nice clean yeast flavors. I think 3L is probably over kill.

But that being said I have used starters that have bubbled over and out of their containers, and as long as the foil stayed on top, used them with great results. Bacteria/Bad yeast fall, they cant crawl, so as long as it was covered your good.
 

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