yeast starter necessary?

[titletowngirl]

Is a yeast starter necessary? We want to brew great beer but what I've read is mixed. Some say you only need a starter if your brewing on OG of greater than 1.075. Thoughts?

 

[mbird]

If you're using a dry yeast like us05 for a pale ale or Ipa or IIpa then of course no. Just pitch 2 pkgs for a 5 gallon batch. However, when using the liquid yeast such as Whitelabs, the vial contains about 100 billion cells which may be at the lower end of the necessary number of cells to effectively ferment the sugars in an average strength wort. I minimally step up a yeast to at least 150 billion cells (one step) but normally step up twice for 200 billion cells to achieve a quick and efficient fermentation. This is my routine for ales. Lagers require a much larger yeast colony and I would refer to Mr. Malty for the proper cell count for those beers based on original gravity.
mark
Beer Diary...

 

[helibrewer]

Liquid lager yeast = yes. Liquid ale yeast, it's still a good idea. There are pitch rate calculators out there that will assist in making the determination. You want the optimum yeast population for your batch size and gravity no matter what the yeast type...it just makes better beer.

Yeast starters are not difficult to make and you don't need fancy flasks and stirplates. They make the job efficient and are wonderful tools but not necessary. You can practice with any packaged yeast if you want to try it to see how easy it really is.

 

[scoundrel]

Is a yeast starter necessary? We want to brew great beer but what I've read is mixed. Some say you only need a starter if your brewing on OG of greater than 1.075. Thoughts?

I always make a starter. The yeast in a vial or smack pack is not enough unless the OG is 1.040 or less. For smack packs, the "smack" is to release nutrients to ensure the yeast is not dead, not to boost the yeast.

Make a starter.

A simple way to do this is to fill a quart mason jar 1/3 of the way and add 80g of dme. I microwave it for at least 3 minutes until its boiling (watch it). Then I add water to 800ml. Then I cool it slowly then once its cooled down a couple hours later, pitch the yeast. Then I do it again and add the cooled wort the next morning. Works great.

 

[titletowngirl]

What do I need?

 

[titletowngirl]

What do I need? There are so many things out there.

 

[helibrewer]

Look through this: How to Brew - By John Palmer - Preparing Yeast and Yeast Starters

It's from Palmer's book.

 

[mbird]

What you need is:
1. boil pot
2. water
3. malt extract
4. thermometer
5.yeast

mark
Beer Diary...

 

[dhathazy]

Titletown:
I just pitched my first yeast starter yesterday. Just need a gallon jug with and rubber stopper and an airlock - its like making a mini batch of beer really. I made the starter on Friday night and pitched into my brew yesterday at 3:30pm. This morning at 5:30 it is bubbling away already so I'm a believer!

Maybe see you in the super bowl again this year!

 

[kh54s10]

Titletown:
I just pitched my first yeast starter yesterday. Just need a gallon jug with and rubber stopper and an airlock - its like making a mini batch of beer really. I made the starter on Friday night and pitched into my brew yesterday at 3:30pm. This morning at 5:30 it is bubbling away already so I'm a believer!

Maybe see you in the super bowl again this year!

Don't use an airlock. The yeast need oxygen while reproducing. Cover the top with a sanitized piece of aluminum foil.

 

[cwi]

There is a lot of conflicting or just plain wrong information in this thread.

Most dry yeast has the correct cell count for a 5G batch. You do not pitch 2 packets as mentioned previously. Rehydrating dry yeast in plain sterile water is best. The only thing that could be added is a special rehydrating nutrient, but it is not necessary. Details on this method are on the Fermentis website. For high SG beers, the common advice was to add more dry yeast, since dry yeast was cheaper than the cost/hassle/risk of using DME to make a starter. Yeast prices have increased lately, so it is not such a clearcut choice anymore. Use a yeast calculator like Mr. Malty's, as was recommended previously.

Most 'pitchable' liquid yeasts come from the factory with ~1/2 the ideal number of cells for 5g of a typical ale. Again, use a yeast calculator. You can either use more vials/packs of liquid yeast, or make a starter. There are various vetted methods for doing this, but none involve placing an airlock on the starter as was suggested. The yeast need O2 during the growth phase. Most use a piece of foil to cover the opening.

Search and ye shall find. I believe this stuff is in the stickies and WIKI as well, where there is less noise to mix things up.

 

[BamaRooster]

I always make a starter when using liquid yeast. It seems that the failure to make a liquid yeast starter, IMO, results in more esters being created during the fermenting process. But make no mistake, under-pitching will still make beer. I use the Mr. Malty calculator to determine the size of the starter.

Dry yeast is a different animal. I do not use a starter but do use the Mr. Malty calculator to determine if more than one package is required and I make sure to pay attention to the size of the packet being pitched. I also make sure to ALWAYS re-hydrate dry yeast because up to 1/2 of your viable yeast can be killed from dry pitching.

The issue for me, is not if the beer will be made, but about controlling the flavors created during the process. When I am making a Belgian style ale, if I want an in your face ester profile, banana and cloves etc., I purposely under pitch the Belgian style yeast to accentuate that flavor profile.