I made a 1 qt starter using 5 oz of my LME and a pinch of brown sugar and leftover Mr Beer booster. I shook it often and it fizzed a lot. It was kept around 70*. It didn't have any sediment that I recall. I used it roughly 24 hrs later with great fermenting results compared to not having made a starter the first few brews.
I made a 1 qt starter using 4 oz of DME and kept it in the same conditions, but for closer to 36 hrs. It wasn't shaken quite as often either. It didn't fizz up like the first one, and it had a lot of sediment. The smack pack took much longer to fully swell than any I've used before.
Why the major difference?
I bought 1 lb of light DME to make starters with.
I'm planning on making a 4 gal APA (1.055 OG) and a 5 gal IPA (1.066 OG) soon and would like to know just how large of a starter should be made if a quart isn't sufficient. Is it merely the volume of the starter or amount of food for it that makes it work well (i.e. 1 qt with say 6 oz of DME or 2 qts with 8 oz of DME)?
Thanks,
Bob
I made a 1 qt starter using 4 oz of DME and kept it in the same conditions, but for closer to 36 hrs. It wasn't shaken quite as often either. It didn't fizz up like the first one, and it had a lot of sediment. The smack pack took much longer to fully swell than any I've used before.
Why the major difference?
I bought 1 lb of light DME to make starters with.
I'm planning on making a 4 gal APA (1.055 OG) and a 5 gal IPA (1.066 OG) soon and would like to know just how large of a starter should be made if a quart isn't sufficient. Is it merely the volume of the starter or amount of food for it that makes it work well (i.e. 1 qt with say 6 oz of DME or 2 qts with 8 oz of DME)?
Thanks,
Bob