Starter question: less than 24 hours away from brewing...

[jpar345]

I'm brewing a brown ale tomorrow morning, if I make a starter when I get home from work that gives it only about 16 hours instead of 24... should I even bother with a starter if I don't have a full 24 hours to devote to it? I'm assuming it wouldn't hurt anything, just wouldn't give the yeast the full time to get ready for it's main course.

 

[badbrew]

I would.

 

[Snicks]

I think I read in the book Yeast that typically maximum cell density is reached around 18 hours, so it's probably a good idea. Make sure you pitch the whole thing.

 

[jpar345]

I was just gonna make a 1 liter starter and pitch the whole thing. I screwed up and got dark DME instead of light as suggested but 1 liter shouldn't change the SRM that much... I'm hoping.

 

[BradleyBrew]

yes I'm sure you will benefit from a 16 hour starter than not making one.

 

[Butter]

Don't think the dark dme will have any affect on your batch. That's one liter distributed into 20.

 

[jetmac]

If your goal is to increase cell count you'll need at least 12-15 hours. If your goal is to wake the yeast up and get them active, you'll need 5-6 hours.

 

[jpar345]

It's not a high gravity beer, I guess my goal is just to wake them up and be ready for action so it appears as though I'll be fine - thanks for the info everybody.