yeast starterssss

[RickyLopez]

So...in my rookie eagerness and naiive attitude...I have yet to make a yeast starter for any of my batches....I've read plenty of ways to do it...but can anyone give me yeast starter for dummys technique to making the right starter for my batch???

Also...I had the idea of.....
Making my wort....saving a small amount for the starter...making the starter. Cool and throw the wort into the carboy...and pitching my yeast the next day?

Is that appropriate?

 

[Golddiggie]

Easiest (which is what 'for dummies' books are all about, right?) is as follows:

Get 1-3# of extra light/light DME
Figure out size of starter you need to make. Heat #L of water (just a bit over the starter size you need to make) to a boil.
Mix 100g of DME per 1L of water, with the heat off/reduced. Stir as you would when making an extract batch.
Boil wort for ~10 minutes, turn off heat and cover.
After 5-10 minutes start the cold water bath in the kitchen sink to cool the starter wort to a reasonable temperature. For me, that's in the 60's.
Pour chilled starter wort into flask, place on stir place, add stirbar, pour yeast in from packet/vial, and start stirplate. Cover flask with either a piece of sanitized tin foil, or use a foam stopper. DON'T use an airlock, you want a two way gas exchange.
When a nice vortex (it should be visible and at least an inch deep) has formed, and you're not tossing the stir bar to the side, leave it alone. Check on starter after a few hours. Then again after about 12 hours. By the time 24 hours has passed, on the stirplate, it should be finished. You can give it longer, but chances are it's done. The color will have changed to indicate it's done.
If you have time, cold crash the starter in the fridge 12-24 hours (or more if you have time) to get the yeast to flocculate out and form a nice cake in the bottom.
Decant most of the spent wort (use a rare earth magnet to hold the stirbar in), swirl to form a slurry and pitch said slurry into your oxygenated wort.

Questions??

 

[homebrewdad]

The absolute starters for dummies version (I doubt the OP has a flask, stir bar, etc)-

Boil 1/2 cup of DME in 4 cups of water for ten minutes. Transfer to a sanitized container (you see the fancy flasks, I use sanitized sweet tea jugs from the grocery store). Cool and pitch your yeast.

Put a piece of sanitized aluminum foil loosely over the opening. Shake the starter whenever you walk past it. Pitch it the next day into your wort.

 

[BradleyBrew]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/how-make-yeast-starter-pictorial-76101/

pictorial. Skip the airlock and use foil.

 

[hungry4hops]

Buy a yeast starter kit from midwestsupplies or northernbrewer they are like 20 bucks come with everything you need plus detailed instructions. It really help me understand it, and I held on tho the instructions to reference back to them when I need to

 

[Golddiggie]

Buy a yeast starter kit from midwestsupplies or northernbrewer they are like 20 bucks come with everything you need plus detailed instructions. It really help me understand it, and I held on tho the instructions to reference back to them when I need to

Get the better ones with a stirplate and flask (get either a 2L or 3L flask, 1L is nigh on useless). Then you can make smaller starters than with the occasional shake method, that are done MUCH faster (24 hours or less).

Also... http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

[ALF]

http://www.yeastcalc.com/

 

[RickyLopez]

A big reason I never made a yeast starter is because I don't have the chance to go to the brewshop during the week...saturdays are my free days..so that's when I go to the shop and brew...

So...is it possible to get evertyhing on Saturday...make my wort....use a little wort for the starter....make the starter and pitch it Sunday????

 

[mdgagne]

Get the stuff you need the weekend before, on Wednesday get your starter going, cold crash on Friday, brew Saturday. That's my typical schedule.

 

[Golddiggie]

You could, but IMO/IME, you're better off making the starter a couple of days ahead, and pitching JUST the yeast slurry into the brew. Otherwise, you'll dilute the main brew with the starter wort, which I wouldn't want to do. IF you do want to go down that route, you'll need the wort you make for the starter to have an OG of about 1.030-1.040, and really need a stirplate in order for it to be ready in time.

I think it's far easier to get your yeast before hand (order it online and have it shipped overnight to you) and bring your starter with you to where you're brewing. I've been doing that for the past year (or so) since my ******* LL made it so that I can't brew at home...

 

[duboman]

Sure, as long as your keeping your wort safe a clean so when you do pitch you're not worrying about infection and your temps are close with the yeast

 

[RickyLopez]

So its fair to say you should pitch right after u cool the wort? So if I make a dme starter and pitch the following day...the beer would suffer?

 

[homebrewdad]

So its fair to say you should pitch right after u cool the wort? So if I make a dme starter and pitch the following day...the beer would suffer?

No, it would not suffer at all.

Make your starter a day ahead of time. When you cool your wort, pitch the starter instead of a vial/smack pack of yeast.

 

[Gtrman13]

Also, you may know this already, but you only need a starter for liquid yeast. Dry yeasts don't need starters. Ok, carry on!