Why DME for starter/harvesting?

[Flboy]

Ya, ignorant! On many things. Why is DME always used for starters? I plan to split my starter batch of WLP810 into multiple batches to save as shown elsewhere in this forum. I bought a 33 lb of LME for brews. Now if there is real reasoning to add a little cost for yeast harvesting, then good! I can see yeast day is now a completely separate project.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I think it's mainly because DME is easy to weigh out and work with. A 1L starter requires 100g DME, so computing DME to water ratio is very straightforward, no calculator needed. LME contains water, so that has to be taken into account and the proper adjustment made. DME also has a longer shelf life than LME, so that could come into play. In actuality, though, LME works fine.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

if you really want to save time & money with starters, do an AG starter batch & can it. then when you need to make a starter, you got that unhopped AG wort to work with.

 

[Flboy]

Ag?

 

[Billy-Klubb]

Ag?

All Grain.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Yeah... I do AG starters.. After I mash in and sparge I run another gallon of sparge water through and collect it, boil it, put in in a sanitized container, put in the fridge for the next starter I need. It would just be wasted sugar that I would have pitched anyways. I hate buying dme for 4 or 5 bucks a lbs!!

I've also mashed 10 or so ounces of 2-row with great success as well.

 

[ColoHox]

Yeah... I do AG starters.. After I mash in and sparge I run another gallon of sparge water through and collect it, boil it, put in in a sanitized container, put in the fridge for the next starter I need.

What gravity do you end up with? My last sparge run stops at 1.010, that would need a lot of boiling.

 

[BradleyBrew]

I typically do no sparge brewing. Sorry should have mentioned that

 

[LLBeanJ]

I can my starter wort for convenience. I use DME because it's easy. I tried mashing a batch of grain for starter wort once and found it to be not worth the effort. I think it was about $6 in grain to save $12 worth of DME. The extra time needed for the mash wasn't worth the $6 I saved. YMMV

 

[brewguyver]

if you really want to save time & money with starters, do an AG starter batch & can it. then when you need to make a starter, you got that unhopped AG wort to work with.

To OP - if you're extract brewing and do any canning, this is a pretty safe way to experiment with all grain. Get a Brew in a Bag (BIAB) bag from your local home brew store (LHBS) for about $8. A 5 gallon batch makes me about 18 1 liter jars of starter wort. From there I'm all set for 6-12 months on starters. No need to mix up or heat up a starter as long as you're hygienic about it.

Warning: this may cause you to want to buy additional equipment.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

To OP - if you're extract brewing and do any canning, this is a pretty safe way to experiment with all grain. Get a Brew in a Bag (BIAB) bag from your local home brew store (LHBS) for about $8. A 5 gallon batch makes me about 18 1 liter jars of starter wort. From there I'm all set for 6-12 months on starters. No need to mix up or heat up a starter as long as you're hygienic about it.

Warning: this may cause you to want to buy additional equipment.

this. and with all that being said, I have yet to can a batch myself. right now I don't have the time and since the ease of DME is there, that is what I'm still doing. when my hours go down this summer, I'll be canning about 5 gallons.:rockin:

 

[Curtis2010]

Ya, ignorant! On many things. Why is DME always used for starters? I plan to split my starter batch of WLP810 into multiple batches to save as shown elsewhere in this forum. I bought a 33 lb of LME for brews. Now if there is real reasoning to add a little cost for yeast harvesting, then good! I can see yeast day is now a completely separate project.

Do you mean versus LME or versus other sugars?

If versus LME then LME will work fine, just a bit less convenient.

If versus other sugars then you want to feed the yeasties the more complex sugars in LME/DME versus simple sugars.

 

[alphagolf]

I only do 1-2 quart starters so for me the price of DME is well worth the time saved. I did do an all grain brew in a bag starter once when I was out of DME and it was such a pain to get out the mill, crush grain, do the mash, etc, etc, etc. Call me lazy but my free time is precious!!

 

[brewguyver]

I only do 1-2 quart starters so for me the price of DME is well worth the time saved. I did do an all grain brew in a bag starter once when I was out of DME and it was such a pain to get out the mill, crush grain, do the mash, etc, etc, etc. Call me lazy but my free time is precious!!

Don't blame you - I think the time saver for me would be in using a brew day to make all my starters. One or two would be a waste. I feel like it usually takes an hour or so to heat a starter, boil for 15, cool, and pitch. So a bunch is worth it, but a few is not!