Ok. So I brewed my second batch of beer on Monday night and added an extra pound of lme Wich gave me an OG of 1.060. I didn't make a yeast starter. My question is, should I have made one? If so is there anything I should do? I only ask because I'll be out of town for a few days and want to get it going before I leave, but I may just take a reading when I get back.
Yeast starter
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batty
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you'll find many on here that recommend a starter no matter what the og.. but i've gone up to 1.09 with no starter and made great beer.. 1.06 I wouldn't worry about at all.
Butter
Well-Known Member
+1 You'll be fine. I've been brewing off and on since '95 and haven't made a starter yet. The yeast will still make beer. If you want to make the same recipe again but make a starter for it, it'll give you the info you need if it helps your beer IMO.
i'm gonna have to go with the standard, if it's over 1.03 or so, you should make a starter. i know we've all made good beer pitching a single smack pack/vial into beers 1.05-1.06, but we also all know that >100 billion cells is a gross under pitch in most beers. a starter is always recommended.
make a starter, it's the only way to correctly answer your question.
make a starter, it's the only way to correctly answer your question.
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user 21663
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For this batch, I wouldn't worry about it. For future batches, I would make a starter if your gravity is going to be over 1.040. Yes, without a starter it will make beer, but with a starter, the yeast are ready to go and are less stressed, so it should make better beer.
If you plan far enough ahead, you can brew a beer without a starter, and then use that yeast in a bigger beer later. I'm doing this soon with a Munich Helles ( although I'm making a starter ) and then repitching the yeast into a Maibock.
sbell...I would make a starter with it but it should be fine. I have an Altbier going like crazy right now that had yeast with a manufacture date of May 2011. I made a starter and pitched it on New Year's Day.
If you plan far enough ahead, you can brew a beer without a starter, and then use that yeast in a bigger beer later. I'm doing this soon with a Munich Helles ( although I'm making a starter ) and then repitching the yeast into a Maibock.
sbell...I would make a starter with it but it should be fine. I have an Altbier going like crazy right now that had yeast with a manufacture date of May 2011. I made a starter and pitched it on New Year's Day.
couldn't really tell you, that's all up to the yeast.
things that happen from under pitching; long lag times due to needing to reproduce more. this results in excessive esters and diacetyl precursor. sluggish fermentation, again results in excessive ester production. the yeast may poop out early, resulting in an under attenuated beer.
not saying other factors don't come into play here, but under pitching is one of the main contributors to off flavor in beer.
Bones1948
Well-Known Member
I am of the belief the starter simply accelerates the "wake up" time the yeast cells undergo after being pitched. The yeast will wake up with or without the starter after pitching into the wort. Properly oxygenating will decrease the wake up time dramatically and will allow the yeast cells to multiply to numbers necessary for complete attenuation to the predicted FG. Into my last batch I tossed dry yeast into oxygenated wort and whisked them around for a half minute to break up the clotted yeast and the mix began bubbling in 4 hours instead of the 12 to 36 stated in the kit instructions.
this is only partially correct. yeast will 'wake up' when pitched into any wort. but the main reason to make a starter isn't to wake them up, it's to get them multiplying so you can pitch the right amount. if the only goal was to wake them up, simply smacking a Wyeast pack, or warming and swirling a White Labs vial would be sufficient and none of us would make starters.
