starter question(s) (after reading WIKI)

[kjm13]

I've been reading quite a bit about yeast starters, and am left with a few questions:
I saw it stated that using a yeast starter will make a better beer, but have also seen that if I'm using dry yeast, then a starter is not really necessary. So my question is; Is there any benefit to make a starter if using dry yeast? The second part of that question is; Is there a benefit to using liquid yeast and making a starter over just using dry and simply hydrating it?
And the last - I also saw when making a starter to use light DME. Any reason not to use Amber DME?

My goal here is to make the best possible beer. Extra time and steps are not a factor for me if it will make a better beer.

Any and all comments appreciated!
Thanks.

 

[stpug]

As I understand it, there is no benefit to making a starter using dry yeast - unless your starter is in the 3-5 gallon size range, in which case you may as well make a beer instead . In fact, as I understand it, there is actually a drawback to making a starter with dry yeast in that you will use up nutrients and sterols that have been included in the dried yeast supplied by the manufacturer.

The single biggest reason for using liquid over dry is the variety. As it stands today, your available options of liquid yeast borders on 100 or more, while your dry yeast selection is about 15-20 or so.

In regards to the DME, I would say use what you have on hand. Light could potentially contain less non-fermentables which would be more useful to the yeast. Light is less likely to "stain" your beer a darked shade than you had intended. Light will contribute less flavor than a darker DME. These are some of the reasons I can see using Light over a darker DME, but realistically any change from a decanted starter will be minute so if you have plenty of amber on hand then use it up

 

[frazier]

I'll answer your second question first. There are many more varieties of liquid yeast than dry. For many styles of beer, or if you are trying to achieve a certain flavor profile, you need to use the liquid yeast because a dry is simply not available for that style. For example, if you are doing an American Ale, go ahead and use US-05, because you will not likely see any difference if you use a liquid variety. But if you are doing a Belgian saison, an English bitter, or a German lager, it would pay to research the variety and pick a liquid yeast that suits the recipe.

As for the first question, I've never made a starter with dry yeast because I believe the standard wisdom that says there are a gajillion viable cells in a pack of dry, and making a starter is unnecessary. But I'm only repeating what I've heard.

If you are making a light beer, use light DME. If you are making a dark beer, it doesn't matter. If you decant and pitch, it probably doesn't matter much in any case.

Cheers!