yeast starter for extract brewing?

[gerryhz]

I'm doing a stout this month (will be my 4th brew batch). I have only done extract batches and used dry yeast. All my 3 batches have been successful.


Seems a lot of people really recommend the use for yeast starters, but in regards to all-grain. What about for extract brewing?

 

[Hex23]

Starters are just as applicable to extract as to all-grain. If it seems like there is a correlation to AG brewing, maybe it's just that AG brewers experience level makes it more likely they're also making starters.

 

[Hex23]

Also, if you're going to continue to use dry yeast, there is no reason to make a starter. Typical gravity stouts also would only require a common 11g packet of dry yeast.

 

[podz]

If you're using dry yeast then don't worry about it - I never do and everything has turned out fine.

I also rehydrated a few times - once I forgot about my rehydrating yeast for over 26 hours. I pitched it and it worked just as fast as short rehydration or no rehydration at all.

 

[flars]

I'm doing a stout this month (will be my 4th brew batch). I have only done extract batches and used dry yeast. All my 3 batches have been successful.


Seems a lot of people really recommend the use for yeast starters, but in regards to all-grain. What about for extract brewing?

Yeast starters are made for liquid yeasts based on the date of production, the estimated original gravity of the beer being brewed, and whether or not it will be lagered. Liquid yeasts begin losing viable cells from the day they are packaged.

Starters are not made for dry yeasts. An 11.5 gram package of dry yeast contains many more viable cells than a package of liquid yeast. Your success with dry yeasts in your beers attests to this.

Making a starter for dry yeast is detrimental to the health of the yeast. Dry yeasts may be rehydrated though for best performance.

 

[ResumeMan]

The above posters are correct with regard to dry yeast, but I thought I would pipe up and note that, if you are using liquid yeast, once your extract is dissolved and your wort is boiled with the hops, wort is wort, and you should approach the fermentation using the same principles whether the wort came from extract or straight from grain. So, if you were to use liquid yeast, you should make a starter just as if it was AG.

 

[gerryhz]

Thank you for easing my mind on this.

 

[tooblue02]

I just started doing yeast starters for my last two batches and had much better attenuation than when using dry yeast, I think it does help with the beer but I won't know for sure until I bottle and taste, and that is probably open to debate. Plus it was fun making the DIY stir plate, and doing the yeast starter. Lots of good lessons learned about yeast and cells, and for the beginner like myself it was mostly for the knowledge and having fun building stuff!

 

[hellawaits77]

What everyone else said: Starters can be used for extract as well as AG. But if you're using dry yeast, there's no need for a starter.