Using extra wort for yeast starter?

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NikolausXX

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Instead of using DME for yeast starter, could I use some of my runnings off a sparge that are around 1.030 or so for a yeast starter? Of course they would be transfered to a sanitized container, and should I boil the runnings before pitching the starter? Seems more cost effective than paying for extract just to make a yeast starter. Or could I just take some post boil wort and save in sanitized container for starter? Another thought I was having is to make a small batch just for that purpose all together.
 
Exactly what I was hoping to hear. I am making another batch next week (dont know what yet). I have harvested some yeast from my pale ale (safeale 04) and my Heffeweizen (wyeast 3068) and ill dip a mason jar as BigKahuna suggested. Ill make sure and star san the mason jar before just for good luck. Dont mock me for saving saving dry yeast (I know its coming) it costs like 3-4 bucks at my lhbs, and the heffe yeast was 10 ouch. I also have some harvested irish (wyeast 1084 first generation) yeast that is about 6mo old that has been in refrigerator, and need to regenerate, before it goes bad. I might make 2 or 3 mason jars of yeast starter, ill have to adjust my recipe or sparge a little more and hope my effeciency is good or better, which it has been. This is very good news.

I might harvest the wort before hop addition as stated. That seems to be best bet, wouldnt have to reboil.
 
Dont mock me for saving saving dry yeast (I know its coming) it costs like 3-4 bucks at my lhbs, and the heffe yeast was 10 ouch.

Don't feel bad for saving yeast, most of us do it constantly. I time my batches so that I can ferment a lighter ale then re-pitch a heavier one on that yeast cake.

I also make cultures of any yeast I buy so that I can step that up and basically get 4 uses from one smack-pack. At 8 bucks a tube of White Labs or a pack of Wyeast, why not same some and reuse it?

And my LHBS doesn't stock many yeasts varieties... so its nice to be self sufficient.
 
Just harvested the heffe yeast. Going to make another heffe this weekend. Going to save some wort! Got a half gallon jug and stopper. It should be fun experiment.
I end up making a bunch of jars of first gen yeast, then they take up too much room and get combined. I need to really get my kegerator going, and possibly get my freezer back from my buddy. I switched from pints to half pints also. Also considering baby food jars, as with 2 babies, they are easy to come by.
 
I collect that last bit that gets left in the boil pot. I'll run it through a strainer and then take it to work and autoclave it. Or one could can it up in mason jars with a pressure cooker.
 
No $10 was for Wyeast 3068. Liquid. 3.50 for safeale 04. Havnt had mishap yet, just havnt made any starters yet either.

Online seems more expensive with the shipping, all the stuff is cheaper, in some cases. Would save alot if I bought a bunch of stuff, for like 3x batches or equiptment.
 
Ya I was thinking along those lines. Would a light colored wheat wort work for a light colored ale? I plan to decant most of the fermented wort from the starter, and shake and pour! I wouldnt put my dark irish yeast from oatmeal stout in a pale ale or anything!
 
As long as you decant most of the beer of the top, it won't make that big a difference. I usually always use 2-row or pilsner DME, regardless of style, but if collecting wort, I would just try to either stick with as light as possible, or match the color. A starter made with a light colored wort into a stout wouldn't be a big deal, but I probably wouldn't pitch stout starter into a blonde.
 
Exactly. I am going to reverse my heffe recipe this weekend. Instead of 7lb wheat 4lb pills, im going to make 7lb pills 4 wheat, or might at last minute make it 6/5. Im on cheap this weekend, and all that wheat made for slow mash/sparging. So hopefully I can decant a pint or so, to make a starter for my next beer. I harvested 7 half pint bottles, that are about 1/4 full of clean yeast for heffe. So I think ill decant the wort off the bottles and pitch 2 of them to get next one going. But next brew day, I will make a starter in my 1/2 gallon growler. I have yeast for ale, heffe, and irish ale (stout porter).
 
Alright trying the experment next batch. Made a batch of Heffeweizen today. Just after boilover :( I dipped 2 1/2 pints in there and sealed off. I still ended up hitting the gravity and volume good. I put in a little extra, and got boil over as my boil pot is about 7.5 gallon boil pot. For todays batch I pitched 2 half pints of wyeast 3068 I saved from the last batch, with no starter. Seems to be starting alot slower than the smack pack did. I let it sit out overnight to come up to room temp. Large yeast cake in bottom, and top is discolored some. Hopeing I will go downstairs later and it takes off soon. The smash pack set it off in 3 hours or so. Its been 6 and there is minor activity, no foam, so we will see what time brings. Seems now as im going to bed its kicking off, have lots of head space, wont worry about it until morning.
 
Well, it turned out, that there is a catch:
I was preparing 2-step starter from frozen yeast. For first step I took 100ml of wort made of DME, yeast started wery fast, in couple of hours. After 12 hrs , for next step I added 600 ml of wort left form my brown ale batch, and the yeast couldn't handle that change. The starter is dead.

EDIT: sorry, I misinformed you. Starter is not dead, it just fermented out completely in the night, and I din't notice it.
 
made starter with wheat wort and saved 2nd gen safeale, for pale ale. Pitched today. Lots of yeast stuck to sides of carboy. Real active fermentation, 5 hours in. Will watch as its fun to watch all the yeast swirl around, and the co2 bubbles. Will let results be known at tasting.
 
I was listening to one of the bn's podcasts about yeasts and learned a few things.

1.040 is best for a starter.
hot wort (like a bunch of guys have said) does better than boiled and cooled wort (aka take some of the beer wort, rather than making a starter from scratch.)
Use a stir plate. There's a BIG difference!

I'll be washing all the yeasts I've used. I agree, $8 for a one-time-shot of yeast is just bad economics when you can basically perpetuate the culture!

B
 
I'll be washing all the yeasts I've used. I agree, $8 for a one-time-shot of yeast is just bad economics when you can basically perpetuate the culture!

B

This assumes you are using a common yeast time after time. I culture my yeast, I've got close to a dozen strains now. I make slant for stepping up known batches. I don't maintain a bunch of slants. I store all my yeast in sterile H2O. Shake up a tube >>> iNoc a slant >>> wait 2-3 days then step up if all is well.

I occasionally save dregs for HB buddies, got a 3711 VSS French Saison (in a mason jar) for whoever whats to feed it take good care of it...

Free to a good home....:D
 
Bumping this thread, I saved approximately 72oz of wort from an ale I was brewing (properly canned in mason jars). How much of this wort is needed with the Safale-05 yeast slurry I saved to make a high gravity (1.096) starter for a Dragon Silk Stout? I looked at the calculators and I admit to some confusion regarding appropriate cell count and liquid content in the starter. Any assistance is greatly appreciated - thanks!

Dave
 
Easy answer to reviving this old thread is to not make a high gravity starter. Aim for 1.040 or so.
You need to know the gravity of the 72oz of wort to figure out a dilution factor to get a volume with 1.040 if the gravity is higher than that, or the amount you need to boil it down to get to the desired gravity. Cocktail napkin math would show that 1.060 wort could be diluted by about 50% of the original volume and end up with 108 oz/0.84 gallon starter wort volume which would be good enough.
Playing around with brewer's friend to estimate the numbers should be simple, or there are several scaling/dilution calculators out there too.
I'm sure some other folks will chime in with more exact numbers for you soon.
 
Thanks! The wort gravity is 1.052. I'll research proper dilution to get to the 1.040. I'm still not clear on how much slurry to use from the yeast capture. I looked at the various calculators and understand the ration of yeast to ml can vary. That said, for a 5 gallon batch, I calculated a requirement of approximately 115B cells required - does this sound correct? I can use the calculator to then figure how many ml's needed in the starter - yes? Probably the most important question I have is what are the most likely mistakes I can make that will mess up my new batch? I understand sanitizing, but are there critical elements and some less so?
 
Thanks! The wort gravity is 1.052. I'll research proper dilution to get to the 1.040. I'm still not clear on how much slurry to use from the yeast capture. I looked at the various calculators and understand the ration of yeast to ml can vary. That said, for a 5 gallon batch, I calculated a requirement of approximately 115B cells required - does this sound correct? I can use the calculator to then figure how many ml's needed in the starter - yes? Probably the most important question I have is what are the most likely mistakes I can make that will mess up my new batch? I understand sanitizing, but are there critical elements and some less so?
Unless you are counting cells it's all wild guesstimations anyway, but it will likely not make much difference. Err on over rather than underpitching.
I find it easier to make a big starter and save extra yeast from that. I'll pull off a pint when it's done and store it in the fridge and pitch the rest.
What I would caution is that properly canning wort means using a pressure cooker. Wort is a low acid food that shouldn't be canned in a regular boiling water bath.
 
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