When to make a starter

[keithd24]

I've read many articles written by different folks that say different things. Some say to always make a starter others say make a starter only with beers that have a certain OG. Is there a rule-of-thumb that says use a starter when the OG is at a certain level or higher?

 

[Sadu]

There are websites and programs like beersmith that estimate how many yeast cells you need for a healthy fermentation of a given gravity wort. The last 3g lager I made needed 250 billion cells, the next 1 gallon ale needs 60 billion. A standard 1.050 5 gallon ale brew needs about 200 billion.

Next you estimate how many cells you have. If you are pitching dry yeast that is normally 200b per pack. Liquid is 100b per pack when fresh but it degrades quickly. After 3 months it might be closer to 60b cells. There are calculators that estimate this for you.

If you don't have enough yeast to meet the target for the recipe then you have 3 options.
- buy more packs of yeast
- take a chance with what you have (underpitching causes a range of problems)
- make a starter

With yeast everything is an estimate, but if the recipe estimates 250b cells and you have much less than that then a starter is a good idea. Some people underpitch with no adverse effects, others underpitch and start threads like "my IPA finished at 1.021" or "48 hours and no airlock bubbles" or "help me diagnose this off flavour".

 

[keithd24]

Great advice! I'll check out beersmith. Cheers

 

[petrolSpice]

If you're doing 5 gallon batches, you'll pretty much always need a starter, assuming you pitch at least 0.75 million cells / mL / °P.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

 

[cbfan87]

Chest out this wyeast link, they look to have some pretty guide guidance on pitch rate and what you can do with their products.

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_pitchrates.cfm

 

[eadavis80]

For me, 5 gallons of 1.065 or less = 1 packet dry or 1 smack pack + 1L starter. I don't make beers bigger than that hardly ever. Aerate and add some yeast nutrient and I'm happy.

 

[day_trippr]

Great advice! I'll check out beersmith. Cheers

No good can come of that

This is one of my favorite pitch rate calculators.
Makes the decisions easy, and if you need a starter from small to epic that calculator is built right in...

Cheers!

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Exposing myself here But I've never made a starter.Dry yeast doesn't need one and the times I've used liquid I made an average .050 beer with one packet and reused the yeast over and over putting the yeast count way above the recommended rate.Never had an issue with lag time or off numbers

 

[day_trippr]

Exposing myself here But I've never made a starter.[...]

So, you're going to brew 11 gallons of 60-point Trappist ale and the LHBS only had one pack of 3787.

What would you do....

Cheers! (Checkmate )

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

So, you're going to brew 11 gallons of 60-point Trappist ale and the LHBS only had one pack of 3787.

What would you do....

Cheers! (Checkmate )

Brew something else
I'm stating what has worked and still works for my brewing/drinking style. Ive never had a 60 point Trappist ale but if you send me one I will most definitely drink it

 

[day_trippr]

Right. Avoidance brings limitation...

Cheers!

 

[kh54s10]

My favorite calculator: http://www.yeastcalculator.com/

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Right. Avoidance brings limitation...

Cheers!

I find it hard to believe anyone on the forum "avoid" any type of beer style.They try every beer on tap at the bar and brew to there liking

 

[Sadu]

Also to the OP, you should check out yeast harvesting/washing. Once a brew is finished you can normally scoop up some of the yeast and use it for your next batch (that uses the same yeast).

This is a great way to save money and ensure that you are pitching plenty of yeast. If you are planning a big high gravity beer, often it's easier/cheaper to brew a normal beer first then reuse the yeast for the big beer.

Plenty of threads on how to do this so have a serach, but just so you know that you don't have to buy new yeast every time.

 

[day_trippr]

I find it hard to believe anyone on the forum "avoid" any type of beer style.They try every beer on tap at the bar and brew to there liking

sigh...that's a total miss of a clear point...

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

sigh...that's a total miss of a clear point...

I get your point and choosing to avoid your negativity

 

[day_trippr]

Uh huh. Did you actually notice the topic of this thread?

Cheers!

 

[keithd24]

Thanks for the great advice. I'm going to make a starter for my next brew day and see how it turns out. Going to make a brown ale. I'm out of town for work and can't wait to get home and get it done. Cheers!

 

[catdaddy66]

Someone wiser than I said ""Can't hurt, might help..."

 

[skw]

I'm now doing starters for all my beers, except when I'm using dry yeast. I pitch at high krausen, and always have the whole batch bubbling away in no time. I think starters help not just for propagation, but also for ensuring healthy and active yeast.