Starter yeast question

[GLish830]

Hello all,
I am doing my first ever brew next weekend and I am going to try to use a yeast starter with a stir plate. I bought an ale kit with Wyeast. I believe it is considered a smack back. I am curious if I still smack it and then let it sit for a day or two while it balloons in the bag or do i just smack it, cut and pour it in the flask without waiting?
Thanks
Garth

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Hello all,
I am doing my first ever brew next weekend and I am going to try to use a yeast starter with a stir plate. I bought an ale kit with Wyeast. I believe it is considered a smack back. I am curious if I still smack it and then let it sit for a day or two while it balloons in the bag or do i just smack it, cut and pour it in the flask without waiting?
Thanks
Garth

Welcome to the forum, just follow the directions on the smack pack. You really don’t need a starter, unless you find it to not be very active or you have a high gravity wort to ferment. Sometimes it can take a while to expand, but most times you will see expansion in a few hours. Patience is the one ingredient often overlooked. Take your time, work through the process methodically, follow directions (for the most part, secondary fermentation is often unnecessary) and keep things clean and sanitary.

 

[IslandLizard]

Brewing this weekend (2 days from now) or next?

What's the target gravity and volume of what you're brewing?

To make yeast starters you'd need to add starter wort and stir it with the yeast on the stir plate for a few days, so the yeast can grow more cells (propagate). Usually the starter wort is made from DME and water (at a 1:10 ratio by weight), boiled, then chilled, while using very good sanitation with whatever it touches.

How big is your flask?

 

[GLish830]

I have a kit for a irish ale I got from northern brewer. It says FG of 1.011. 2L flask

 

[IslandLizard]

2L flask

That's good, very useful, yes.

It says FG of 1.011.

The OG (and the volume) is actually more important for estimating yeast pitches.

1.044 for the Irish Red, is that the kit you got, a 5 gallon batch?
https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/irish-red-ale-extract-kit-w-specialty-grains
If it's the Irish Red, and that yeast pack swells well after smacking (keep at room temps), it's proven to be viable, and you can most likely pitch that directly into 5 gallons of 1.044 Red Ale wort, later the same day or the next. Aerate the wort well upon pitching.

If you're brewing the 1.059 OG Irish Blonde, it's probably best to make a yeast starter, well ahead of time, yes.

If you want to tinker with starters, you need to read up on how to do it, properly. If the yeast is healthy (swollen pack), it may take 1-2 days to grow some more in the starter, could be a few days longer.

If the yeast got frozen on it's way to you, it will take much longer. You can't brew until the yeast has shown it's alive and well (swollen pack), and probably best to make starter after it's shown it's at least alive, to ramp up cell count.

More info on calculating yeast pitches and starters:
BrewUnited's Yeast Calculator

 

[GLish830]

Thanks, yes you found the right one. I will be pitching right in. Does it hurt to use a starter, I had bought flask and plate, so wouldn't mind just learning to do it, just dont want to over do it.

Thanks for all your reponses.

 

[IslandLizard]

Does it hurt to use a starter, I had bought flask and plate,

No, making starters won't hurt a thing. It's actually much better to pitch a properly sized starter for healthier fermentations, which are less likely to stall or finish at an unexpected higher gravity.

When you look at that yeast pitch and starter calculator, I linked to before, a single pack of WLP or WY that's typically 2-3 months old before we get them only has about 50-80% of live cells left, and would be considered an underpitch in most cases.

Making a starter does 3 things:
1) Proves viability
2) Ramps up cell count while improving vitality
3) By overbuilding with a few hundred billion cells, you can save some out for a next round of starters

So if you want to make starter, go ahead. Just, please, don't boil the starter wort in that glass flask. Instead, use a clean stainless kitchen pot that has a well fitting lid, so you can cover the pot while chilling in the sink or a tub with cold water. When chilled, pour into your flask, pitch the yeast and let her spin for a day, or 2 (or longer, if needed).

Use proper and good sanitation, you don't want to raise bugs.

When ready to pitch, using the calculator as a guide, homogenize the slurry by swirling it up well. Then pitch the required volume, and save some out to make a next starter from. And so on, and on, and on... The yeast that keeps on giving.

 

[GLish830]

thanks for the great advice

 

[Bramling Cross]

IslandLizard is an excellent brewer, follow his advice, mind your sanitation, and you'll do great things!

 

[harrower]

I make a starter 24 hrs before pitching using a stir plate. After pitching, my fermentor is active within four hours. Always use a blow off tube.