Diesel48
Well-Known Member
I plan on using a yeast starter batch this weekend. I have seen a few pictures of what it looks like after 18 hours or so but was wondering what do I pour out before I put the starter in my wort? Thanks!
Yeast starter, what do I pour out?
- Thread starter Diesel48
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Put the starter in the fridge for a few hours to a day to drop all the yeast to the bottom. Then decant the beer off the top of the yeast. Pitch just the yeast that have hardened to the bottom. Sometimes, depending on the strain, the yeast can be stuck pretty hard to the bottom. If that happens I take a turkey baster and draw off some wort and put that on the yeast and give it a swirl until its homogenous.
mojotele
Well-Known Member
Depending on the size of the starter and the type of extract you used, you don't necessarily have to pour out anything (except the entire contents into your wort).
I put mine in the fridge the night before I plan to pitch, though. It knocks the yeast out of suspension and hardens the cake on the bottom - which should be quite evident. I pour out as much of the unhopped beer part as possible without pouring out the yeast. There's always a little of the beer left, so I shake it up to uncake the yeast then pour the rest into my wort.
I put mine in the fridge the night before I plan to pitch, though. It knocks the yeast out of suspension and hardens the cake on the bottom - which should be quite evident. I pour out as much of the unhopped beer part as possible without pouring out the yeast. There's always a little of the beer left, so I shake it up to uncake the yeast then pour the rest into my wort.
JiveTurkey
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I did my first starter on my third ever batch a couple weeks ago, which seems to have worked out pretty well and used very little extra equipment.
48 hours in advance (in the early evening), I boiled up just under a half-gallon of water with just under a half-pound of DME. Cooled to pitching temperature, poured about 1.75 qts of it into a half-gallon sanitized re-usable glass milk jug, and pitched the yeast. I put a piece of plastic wrap over the mouth of the jug and capped it. For the rest of the evening I shook it vigorously as often as I could stand it. Since initially the yeast are in the growth phase, little CO2 is produced and little pressure builds up, though I did uncap it before shaking each time to let out any CO2 and re-introduce O2.
Before going to bed, I removed the cap and fitted an airlock and stopper (which happened to require the same size as with my fermenter).
The next day through the morning of the day after, every once in a while, I would: wash my hands well, remove the stopper with one hand (careful not to touch the jug's mouth or the lower portion of the stopper) and with the other hand lay a fresh piece of plastic wrap and the cap on the jug and shake until the sediment at the bottom re-suspended. (BE CAREFUL to hold the cap tight while shaking and slowly and carefully remove the cap as pressure will build up, especially as more time has passed. You'll likely need to remove the cap, vent, re-cap, and shake several times before the sediment is completely re-suspended without building up too much pressure at a time.) (Shaking the starter as much as possible drives off CO2 and re-introduces O2, which keeps the yeast in the growth phase, rather than the attenuation phase.)
On the morning of brew-day, after giving it one last shake, I kept the stopper out, fitted a piece of plastic wrap over the jug mouth, and placed it in the fridge to allow the yeast to settle out.
When ready to pitch, I took the jug out of the fridge, poured off most of the starter wort (tasted it to check for any signs of infection--none that I could tell), swirled the remaining bit to get the yeast cake liquid (next time, I'm going to use jmo88's tip above), and pitched into the fermenter.
I pitched in the late evening and airlock activity started by the time I went to bed and was going strong for the next few days. I'm really hoping I get a fuller attenuation than my first two batches.
48 hours in advance (in the early evening), I boiled up just under a half-gallon of water with just under a half-pound of DME. Cooled to pitching temperature, poured about 1.75 qts of it into a half-gallon sanitized re-usable glass milk jug, and pitched the yeast. I put a piece of plastic wrap over the mouth of the jug and capped it. For the rest of the evening I shook it vigorously as often as I could stand it. Since initially the yeast are in the growth phase, little CO2 is produced and little pressure builds up, though I did uncap it before shaking each time to let out any CO2 and re-introduce O2.
Before going to bed, I removed the cap and fitted an airlock and stopper (which happened to require the same size as with my fermenter).
The next day through the morning of the day after, every once in a while, I would: wash my hands well, remove the stopper with one hand (careful not to touch the jug's mouth or the lower portion of the stopper) and with the other hand lay a fresh piece of plastic wrap and the cap on the jug and shake until the sediment at the bottom re-suspended. (BE CAREFUL to hold the cap tight while shaking and slowly and carefully remove the cap as pressure will build up, especially as more time has passed. You'll likely need to remove the cap, vent, re-cap, and shake several times before the sediment is completely re-suspended without building up too much pressure at a time.) (Shaking the starter as much as possible drives off CO2 and re-introduces O2, which keeps the yeast in the growth phase, rather than the attenuation phase.)
On the morning of brew-day, after giving it one last shake, I kept the stopper out, fitted a piece of plastic wrap over the jug mouth, and placed it in the fridge to allow the yeast to settle out.
When ready to pitch, I took the jug out of the fridge, poured off most of the starter wort (tasted it to check for any signs of infection--none that I could tell), swirled the remaining bit to get the yeast cake liquid (next time, I'm going to use jmo88's tip above), and pitched into the fermenter.
I pitched in the late evening and airlock activity started by the time I went to bed and was going strong for the next few days. I'm really hoping I get a fuller attenuation than my first two batches.
I usually make about 1 qt starters, and pour everything into the wort. If I made a starter greater than 1/2 gal, I would probably chill and decant.
If it is between those figures, I think I'd have to drink a few pints to help me decide what to do, and by the time it was finished, I'd have forgotten what I had to decide.
-a.
If it is between those figures, I think I'd have to drink a few pints to help me decide what to do, and by the time it was finished, I'd have forgotten what I had to decide.
-a.
OP
OP
Diesel48
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Thanks for the help guys!
JiveTurkey
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I forgot to mention in my post above that per John Palmer's recommendation, I added some yeast energizer to the boiling starter wort.
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