Yeast Starter

[user 140735]

Do people make yeast starters with dry yeast,or mostly liquid yeast? If you rehydrate the dry,can you make it just like you would liquid yeast,using DME?
Thanks Ernie

 

[lumpher]

This is an often-debated topic, but MOST dry yeast manufacturers recommend not making a starter, due to the yeast cells being wrapped in a coating of nutrients already. Many people have made starters with dry, but I don't. That's why I usually use dry; the sheer convenience. Occasionally I use liquid, and when I do, I either use 2 or make a starter with 1, but never with dry.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

If you rehydrate the dry,can you make it just like you would liquid yeast,using DME?

The process for re-hydration of dry yeast (as described by some of the yeast manufacturers) and the process for making a starter with dry yeast are very different.

The primary reasons for direct pitching of dry yeast are 1) it is simple, 2) it reduces the risk of contaminating or killing the yeast, and 3) it works. Re-hydration has similar benefits.

A primary reason for making a starter is cost, especially with Lager yeast. Lallemand has information at their web site for making a starter with Diamond Lager.

 

[kevin58]

Never dry yeast. Only sometimes with liquid yeast. For 1.060 and under beers I pitch direct from the package.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Do people make yeast starters with dry yeast,or mostly liquid yeast? If you rehydrate the dry,can you make it just like you would liquid yeast,using DME?
Thanks Ernie

My general feelings are that...

If you are making a large starter on a stir plate with the goal of building up the cell count, then making a starter with dry yeast is just as viable as with liquid yeast. The biggest difference is the price point. If you have a pack of $4 yeast on hand, it might be better off pitching that second pack. If your yeast pack cost $8+ and/or you have to make a 1 hour round trip to the store for a second pack, then a starter sounds much better.

If you are doing a simple "1L starter the day before" just to revive the yeast and get it ready to pitch, then you are probably wasting time and money, though I would not be surprised if this has some minor benefits.

I have been wanting to play around with this myself. I often brew 2.5 gallon batches, and I am fine pitching 1 pack of dry yeast into even a fairly high gravity wort. I am fine pitching 1 pack of dry yeast into 5 gallons of 1.055 wort, and I am fine pitching 2 packs into 5 gallons of 1.100 wort. I am not that comfortable pitching 1 pack into 5 gallons of wort in the 1.070 range. I feel like a starter might be a good solution for building up a more correct pitch rate, without having to pitch a second pack.

 

[user 140735]

My general feelings are that...

If you are making a large starter on a stir plate with the goal of building up the cell count, then making a starter with dry yeast is just as viable as with liquid yeast. The biggest difference is the price point. If you have a pack of $4 yeast on hand, it might be better off pitching that second pack. If your yeast pack cost $8+ and/or you have to make a 1 hour round trip to the store for a second pack, then a starter sounds much better.

If you are doing a simple "1L starter the day before" just to revive the yeast and get it ready to pitch, then you are probably wasting time and money, though I would not be surprised if this has some minor benefits.

I have been wanting to play around with this myself. I often brew 2.5 gallon batches, and I am fine pitching 1 pack of dry yeast into even a fairly high gravity wort. I am fine pitching 1 pack of dry yeast into 5 gallons of 1.055 wort, and I am fine pitching 2 packs into 5 gallons of 1.100 wort. I am not that comfortable pitching 1 pack into 5 gallons of wort in the 1.070 range. I feel like a starter might be a good solution for building up a more correct pitch rate, without having to pitch a second pack.

Exactly the information and the advice I am looking for ! I’m fixing to start my first all grain batch!
Thanks Ernie