If I am doing 5 gallon batches of beer that are less than 1.065 do I need to do a yeast starter? The stir plate looks like fun, and having 20 billion yeast cells at my command sounds pretty impressive. But will I gain anything by doing a yeast starter?
Yeast starter question
- Thread starter GRHunter
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HotbreakHotel
Well-Known Member
I vote yes. You will be assured of your yeast health and vitality and imo a generous pitch results in cleaner tasting beer.
Nateo
Well-Known Member
This is the calculator I use when determining if I need to do a starter:
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Pretty much any/every 5 gallon batch of beer needs a starter, unless your OG is like 1.02.
Doing a starter is one of the best improvements I've made to my brewing technique. You get faster and more complete fermentations when you have the proper number of yeasties.
I just do a simple 1 or 2 liter starter with intermittent shaking.
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Pretty much any/every 5 gallon batch of beer needs a starter, unless your OG is like 1.02.
Doing a starter is one of the best improvements I've made to my brewing technique. You get faster and more complete fermentations when you have the proper number of yeasties.
I just do a simple 1 or 2 liter starter with intermittent shaking.
Do you need a starter for lower gravity ales? No. It will still eventually ferment. But the way I look at it is if I'm going to spend the better part of an afternoon actually brewing, spend $20-$30 on ingredients, money for propane, and then wait 6-8 weeks before actually enjoying my creation, I'm glad to spend an extra 30 minutes a day or two before I brew to make sure I'm giving my beer the best possible chance of turning out the best it can.
Got Trub?
Well-Known Member
A fresh Wyeast pack or WL vial is reasonable up to about 1.055 SG ale. A less than fresh pack, higher gravities or lager and you should make a starter.
What do you gain? Better tasting beer. After fermentation temperature control I think pitching the right amount of healthy yeast is the next most important factor to optimize. The bigger the beer you are brewing the more important it becomes - especially for appropriate attenuation.
GT
What do you gain? Better tasting beer. After fermentation temperature control I think pitching the right amount of healthy yeast is the next most important factor to optimize. The bigger the beer you are brewing the more important it becomes - especially for appropriate attenuation.
GT
Shoot, I just pitched a wyeast 1056 smack pack yesterday into an OG 1056 ale. I'm holding it at 64 degrees and crossing my fingers even more than usual now.
I poured the wort through a strainer and got lots of nice oxygen and it's off and running so far. Hopefully those yeast are getting nice and busy.. by which I mean bizZzay.
I poured the wort through a strainer and got lots of nice oxygen and it's off and running so far. Hopefully those yeast are getting nice and busy.. by which I mean bizZzay.
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