Temp for Yeast Starter?

[gatorforty]

Hey Guys,

Curious how the ferm temp of a yeast starter affects it. I mean, could I do it in my garage which can get 85-90 deg ambient and still have it be OK?

Ron

 

[BigFloyd]

I do mine at room temp (70-75*F) on a stirplate.

I'm thinking that your garage is too hot and might cause the starter to get funky.

 

[MalFet]

Yeast love temps in the 80s. Most ale strains hit peak growth rates right around 90 degrees F. I'd crash the starter and dump the spent wort before you pitched it into your beer after.

 

[gatorforty]

Yeast love temps in the 80s. Most ale strains hit peak growth rates right around 90 degrees F. I'd crash the starter and dump the spent wort before you pitched it into your beer after.

So decanting and pouring the spent wort woudl avoid any "off" flavors from entering the batch, right? It wouldn't somehow morph the yeast into producing off flavors in the future?

Sorry, naive when it comes to this stuff, thanks for the help.

 

[MalFet]

So decanting and pouring the spent wort woudl avoid any "off" flavors from entering the batch, right? It wouldn't somehow morph the yeast into producing off flavors in the future?

Sorry, naive when it comes to this stuff, thanks for the help.

Nope, nothing to worry about.

 

[LovesIPA]

I asked the same question a while back and one of the responses was this:

MrMalty advises as follows:


Warmer starters (up to 98°F, 37°C) equal more rapid yeast growth, but using these very high propagation temperatures negatively affects the viability and stability of the resulting yeast. Very rapid growth or excessive growth can result in weaker cell membranes due to lower unsaturated fatty acid concentrations. Lager yeasts tend to be especially sensitive to high temperatures.

The cooler you ferment the starter (down to the planned fermentation temperature for the main batch) the slower the yeast growth, but the yeast can be healthier than yeast coming from a high temperature starter.

Keep starters between 65°F (18°C) and 75°F (24°C). A temperature around the low 70s (72°F, 22°C) strikes the best balance for the propagation of yeasts. Lager yeast starters can be kept a few degrees cooler and ale yeasts can be kept a few degrees warmer, but this temperature strikes a good balance of yeast health and efficient propagation for both types of yeast.

 

[skullface1818]

It depends. If your dumping your starter beer then room temp is best. Beer loves higher temps and it will reproduce nicely....but if your NOT dumping the starter beer then having it in the 68-71 range is best to keep off flavor slow.

but really, I'm in the "dump the starter beer" camp as it is so I let my starters ride in at the 77 that my apartment usually is.

 

[MalFet]

I'm not sure why rapid growth would result in lower unsaturated fatty acid concentrations. More to the point, if you're using nutrient (and you should be!) this shouldn't be a limiting factor for growth.

I love me some JZ, but sometimes his science is kind of hinkey.

In any case, most yeast propagation protocols used by labs target 30ºC. If cell wall strength was compromised at that temp, they sure wouldn't be doing it that way.