The Next Step:Yeast starter or partial mash?

[Brewdawg81]

I've been homebrewing for about a year - a couple dozen batches. Mostly, I've done recipes/kits with specialty grains & dry yeast, and I keg. Looking to move to the next level - what's everyone's opinion on the next best step to improve my beer, in terms of time investment vs. improvement. Would it be moving liquid yeast & starters, or going partial mash? In time, I'm sure I'll do both, but just want opinions on which will give me most bang for the buck, since it's hard to find the time I'd like to devote to this great hobby.

Oh, and if it makes a difference, I like a variety of beers. My fridge is usually stocked w/commercial beers from Sam Adams, Stella, Anchor, Sierra, and various microbrews. But I usually tend toward bigger, more hoppy beers when I brew - IPA's and the like, and occasionally mix in something lighter like a cream ale or kolsch. And my current commercial favorite is Bell's 2 Hearted Ale. Only rarely do I brew brown beers, porters & stouts, and don't really care much for most wheats.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Runyanka]

I would do yeast starters or maybe concentrate on fermentation temp control.

 

[MalFet]

Proper yeast pitching rates (via starters) and fermentation temperature control are the two things that new brewers can do to most improve their beer, no questions asked. Partial mash will give you a few more options, but it won't necessarily give you better results.

 

[Brewdawg81]

Thanks Deuce & MalFet. You both mention temp control - I pitch at 76-78*, and my cellar stays 70-72 year round. I'm in the south, so using any sort of heating device isn't (I don't think?) required. Anything I should do to modify those temps?

On another note, I read postings that said conventional wisdom is changing - that leaving in primary for up to a month, and possibly omitting the secondary completely is thought to allow the yeast to "clean house" and refine the beer taste further than removing from trub within a week or so. It was said to help remove the "extract" taste of homebrews. Any thoughts on that?

 

[MalFet]

Thanks Deuce & MalFet. You both mention temp control - I pitch at 76-78*, and my cellar stays 70-72 year round. I'm in the south, so using any sort of heating device isn't (I don't think?) required. Anything I should do to modify those temps?

70-72 is a touch on the warm side, though not impossible to work with. Your temps will actually be a couple degrees higher than that with active fermentation going, so I would still consider some kind of temp control if you can swing it. The easiest would be a minifridge + temperature controller. Less expensive would be something like the Son of Fermentation Chiller. In any case, being able to control temperature will give you a cleaner fermentation profile and will allow you to work with a wider variety of yeast. I tend to pitch my yeast at closer to 62-64 in most styles, and then slowly ramp it up from there.

On another note, I read postings that said conventional wisdom is changing - that leaving in primary for up to a month, and possibly omitting the secondary completely is thought to allow the yeast to "clean house" and refine the beer taste further than removing from trub within a week or so. It was said to help remove the "extract" taste of homebrews. Any thoughts on that?

I'm not as anti-secondary as some people on here, but I certainly think of it as an "advanced" technique. I wouldn't use a secondary as part of my default protocol, but rather as a particular tool for particular effects. The extra time is pretty unambiguously important, though, and both pro- and anti- secondary folks will tell you that you should not be rushing to bottle. I don't think there's anything wrong with secondary (other than the extra work and the risk of contamination/oxidation), but I don't think the trub and yeast cake are particularly harmful.

I'm also skeptical of the idea of an "extract taste". I like doing AG because it gives me another level of control, but I really can't say that it necessarily makes better beer than extract does for me. I do extract recipes all the time when I am looking for a quick and easy brew day, and for the life of me I can't observe something worse about those batches. I think there's a correlative confounder at play: people switch to all grain and think it makes their beer better, but in reality they've just gotten better at all the other aspects of brewing: better sanitation, better yeast practices, better temp control, etc. The only time I've identified something that I would call "extract taste" was on a batch made with very stale LME, but that's just an ingredients problem. Stale grain tastes pretty bad, too.

 

[biochemedic]

Be aware, you can increase pitch rates with starters and you don't necessarily even need to "invest in more equipment" per se...a gallon wine jug, number 6 stopper and plastic airlock is more than enough. Stir plates are great, I suppose, but clearly not necessary for starting to use starters. Also, using dry yeast when appropriate for style makes it easy to increase your pitch rate.

I also live in the south and I know I would benefit from temp control (a 70* cellar probably means a 74 or perhaps even higher *F brew due to the intrinsic heat of fermentation), but an extra fridge isn't an option for me right now...I try to compensate by brewing as much as possible in the fall/winter/spring, and save summer for saisons and other brews with Belgian yeast that can tolerate higher temps. I suppose a swamp cooler type deal is something I should consider...

I really like having gone to all-grain (only 1 batch so far, but I'm sold...), yet I have to agree with the others that I made pretty good beers with extract/partial mash. I do however, feel I noticed a definite improvement when I started leaving thing alone and doing longer primaries. (I haven't done a secondary in any of the last 4-5 batches.) I'm not sure this has anything intrinsic to do with extract brewing as much as it's probably just good homebrewing practice...

 

[MalFet]

Be aware, you can increase pitch rates with starters and you don't necessarily even need to "invest in more equipment" per se...a gallon wine jug, number 6 stopper and plastic airlock is more than enough. Stir plates are great, I suppose, but clearly not necessary for starting to use starters. Also, using dry yeast when appropriate for style makes it easy to increase your pitch rate.

Good advice. A stir plate isn't essential, but it does mean that you get more growth for less wort (= fewer steps, thus easier and cheaper). Considering that you can build a stir plate for $15 or so, it quickly pays for itself.

The only thing I would object to is the airlock. Unlike with your full fermentation, you want some air circulation with starters to keep oxygen available to the beer. Standard practice is to use tinfoil or a foam stopper.

 

[optimatored]

i say if you have the time and money, why not go for both? the yeast starter is so simple... just brew a mini batch and pitch! the partial mash you could do BIAB (brew in a bag) to start...

but I agree with the other comments that temp control and yeast pitching rates made the biggest difference in the quality of my beer.

 

[Brewdawg81]

Thanks all. Should've mentioned that it's the brew that's 70-72*. good to know that that's an acceptable range at least. And right now, it's the time that's hard to find (when you drink as much as I do, kegs empty pretty quick, and simple brewing/racking takes a lot of time!). I plan to start with simple "mini-batch" starters, then maybe the stir plate (scavenging the fan from an old computer tomorrow). I kind of like to master one thing, then move on to the next, but I'm sure I'll eventually go all grain. And I'm sure I'll be asking more questions.

Just joined with this post, so not sure how to automatically do this yet, but:

Keg 1: Burton Rye Pale Ale
Keg 2: Nukey Brown
2nd #1: BB Cream Ale
2nd #2: BB English Pale Ale
Primary: Sierra Madre
On Deck: Three Hearted Ale
In the Hole: German Alt

 

[Scooby_Brew]

First of all, a yeast starter is not a step, it's more like a half-step or maybe a small tip-toe (and no, you do not need a stir plate for a starter!). If you brewed a few extract batches, a yeast starter is a no-brainer. Plus you can do a phenomenal, award wining beer using a dry yeast, and a dry yeast is what most micro-breweries are using.

If I were you I would take a step toward a partial mash or AG. The reason why is that once you can lose that "extract twang" from your beers you will be amazed how fantastically awesome tasting beers you can brew at home.

 

[MalFet]

Here's a good stirplate schematic in case you're feeling ambitious. Shouldn't cost more than $15.

http://www.stirstarters.com/instructions.html