White Labs Liquid yeast and starter question..

[KingBrianI]

Why are we arguing?

Exactly what he was asking.

Just got my first liquid yeast vial, it is white labs and will be using it in a brown ale (yeah another one). I was wondering if i need a starter or not I have heard yes and I have heard no. If I do need a starter what do I need to start it and maintain it... (I tried to search but i am still a little confused, speak to me as if you were teaching a Labrador to brew) Really don't wanna have to buy a stir plate and extra equipment but i will if i have to..

Seems to me like he was asking whether he needed a starter and how to start and maintain it. Mr Malty Pitching Rate Calculator will let him know. I assume since he is on this board and cares enough to ask questions, that he is interested in making the beer right. I thought everyone on this board wanted to make the best beer they could. I guess I was wrong as it seems some are content with swill.

 

[Jack]

Why are we arguing?





Seems to me like he was asking whether he needed a starter and how to start and maintain it. Mr Malty Pitching Rate Calculator will let him know. I assume since he is on this board and cares enough to ask questions, that he is interested in making the beer right. I thought everyone on this board wanted to make the best beer they could. I guess I was wrong as it seems some are content with swill.

If an outsider can mediate or shed insight, I think it's more the attitude some read into your words moreso than the words themselves. No one is arguing against making a starter. It's clear that better beer will be made that way. But ... For example in the post quoted above you imply that if he doesn't make a starter, he won't make beer but swill. I know from experience that good beer can be made without a starter. Better beer can be made with one. The other problem is that quality processes present a slippery slope. You could just as easily say the "content with swill" line about not having an electronic fermentation temperature control or a wort chiller or matching your water chemistry to the style of beer being brewed.

It's clear from the original post that the poster is someone just starting out. I think some others might fear that you're overwhelming him or belittling his efforts by saying that if he doesn't brew beer your way, that he shouldn't even bother. When I learned to homebrew, I read Papazian and Palmer's books before I even bought my equipment and made a reasonably good ESB. But that's not everyone's approach as I hear a lot of people on the forum saying their first batch was from a Mr. Beer kit. The original poster may well just want to get blitzed on cheap hooch, but we should try to be more warmly welcoming and accepting of people getting into the hobby in general and new members in particular.

Whatever your thoughts are about what I said, I don't want to muddle up this thread any more than it already has been. It's really turned into a question of brewing philosophy more than technique, so if you want to correspond on the matter please do so by private message.

 

[Korben]

I try to keep a pound or two of DME around at all times. Why not start with some DME and ab 2000 ml flask, you dont have to have a stir plate right away, shaking works just fine. Get some practice doing the starters and then upgrade to a stir plate later.

For me, I love doing the starter approx. 4-5 days prior to brewday, let it go for at least 2 days(on a Stir plate) then put it in the fridge to decant. The day of the brew I pull it out and let it naturally warm up to pitching temps. Then just decant and pitch.

Eastside

Do you use an airlock on your starter when doing it like this or do just over with a piece of sterilized aluminum foil?

 

[Yunus]

Do you use an airlock on your starter when doing it like this or do just over with a piece of sterilized aluminum foil?

Both have been done and done successfully. From what I have read others say, aluminum foil can actually be a benefit because when you shake the starter you want more oxygen to hit the starter.

 

[Rhoobarb]

I use a rubber stopper and airlock. I'm fanatical about posible wild yeasties in he air. Personal preference.

 

[944play]

Any suggestion on a brew that would benefit from this Liquid Yeast?

This handy chart might help.

 

[Eastside Brewer]

Do you use an airlock on your starter when doing it like this or do just over with a piece of sterilized aluminum foil?

+1 Foil works great.

 

[remilard]

I use a rubber stopper and airlock. I'm fanatical about posible wild yeasties in he air. Personal preference.

Louis Pasteur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At least one of those bottles still exists in a museum somewhere and is not contaminated.

Yeast can't fly (neither can bacteria). If you can get the top covered with aluminum foil without introducing contamination the starter will stay uncontaminated unless it is in an extraordinarily drafty location.

 

[CrazyBrew]

Ok, this may be a dumb question but.... with the exception of cost being more is there any disadvantage to just pitching two vials of white labs yeast instead of making a starter?

 

[zac]

I don't think so, but cost firgures into my equation towards the top.

 

[Tonedef131]

Ok, this may be a dumb question but.... with the exception of cost being more is there any disadvantage to just pitching two vials of white labs yeast instead of making a starter?

On most average gravity ales this approach is fine. Pitching the proper amount is the main thing, so as long as you can hit your right number of cells how you got there doesn't really matter. But as you get into bigger gravity beers and lagers it makes more and more financial sense to make starters.

Making a starter also has the advantage of waking the yeast up and making sure they are still good. But it also runs a bit more of a risk of contamination and of course is more work. So in the end, if you are confident with your sanitation practices, it comes down to whether you have more time or money.

 

[CrazyBrew]

Ok what if I pitch 2 vials of white labs California ale liquid yeast into a 5 gallon pale ale recipe? Is there any harm or potential problem in overpitching an ale?
My theory is better too much than not enough...?

 

[Benthic]

Shouldn't be a problem. You've just pitched twice as much yeast. That's a similar result to what you'd get if you'd made a 2L starter.

Brian