Starting Wyeast

[cubbie]

Once I notice that the pack starts to swell up just a bit, I transfer it to a my yeast starter vessel with a DME and hop mix similar to the wort i will be pitiching it into, I do this because the yeast dont not like being under any top pressure, when they are in this growth stage. it just means happier yeast and better beer.

Nothing like dragging up an oldie (esp when i look up the thread and see my old questions - of course I am an expert now).

Might try your suggestion next time I brew (and that may be a while since i am heading over seas!!). However often you find the pack never swells until you turn your back! Sneaky buggers.

 

[Quintrex]

Guys in melb, we should start a Yeast Exchange

if you split your pack into 5 starters then there is a heap of yeast to use.
i have 3 lagers, 2 ales, 1 wheat, i want a kolsh and a few more but i just dont use them enough esp ones like wheat.

ohhh a pils would be good also, curently i use my danish lager yeast.
Might make a munich with my munich yeast next!

so many beers to brew, not enought time!

Great Idea, I would be keen for that.
I'm desperate for a good saison yeast. would also be keen to hear from anyone who managed to grab the VSS rogue pacman yeast. Is it good???
I have 4 lots of wyeast starters in good condition.
Cheers
Q
ps. first post

 

[DJR]

I got Rogue pacman, it's OK i guess, i have a couple of cultures that perform better in what i brew but i'm probably a bit off what it does best. Altbier and pseudo-lagers are probably do-able. I found it a bit dry with no real character, probably what you want for the pseudo-lager styles.

 

[ArnieW]

Since discovering the Mr Malty yeast calculator, I've been able to time my yeast starters to perfection. To do this I've started with the calculator itself, used advice (I think on the same web site) to wait 12-18 hours between steps, and then worked with stepping ratios of roughly 10:1 for ales, and 5:1 for lagers.

This means a bit of working backwards before brew day to get the timing right. I have been doing this scratching about on a bit of paper, but thought that an exel spreadsheet might be even easier.

So I quickly knocked one up and have attached it to this beer mail. Please use it if it seems useful. :chug:

cheers, Arnie

View attachment Yeast_timing_calculator.xls

 

[reveler]

I bought some W3068 and reading the instructions it says I should just smack it a 3 or so hours before pitching it into the wort.

However reading here leads me to believe a starter would be useful. So my question is what is the benefit of a starter when using liquid yeast. I don't want a collection of yeasts at the moment as the better half would get angry if I kept them in the fridge

 

[Stuster]

If you make a starter, essentially you are growing yeast. You end up with a great number of yeast cells. If you don't, you may be underpitching. This can lead to a long lag period before fermentation starts in which contamination can occur. Underpitching can also give you a slower ferment that does not attenuate properly. However, it depends on how many litres you are doing and what gravity. One way to run it is to do a low gravity beer (say 1040) as your first beer with that yeast and not worry about a starter. Even if you don't want loads of yeast in the fridge, I'd definitely do a number of beers with that yeast. You can take a cup of yeast or so from the slurry at the bottom of the first batch and use it for a second beer, etc etc. What do you think?

 

[chris.taylor.98]

Hey Reveler,

I used to have problems with yeast storage too until I went to slants.

They are a bit more work, but you will end up with an almost indefinite supply, and it should be better quality then the yeast you store from previous fermentations.

Check out the links below for more details:

http://hbd.org/brewery/library/YstCult.html

http://scott-hamilton.blogspot.com/2006/11...st-storage.html

 

[3GumsBrewing]

Thank god for this thread.
I was going to give up on liquid yeasts because of the cost! :excl:

Good work batz and others.

By the way, i will soon have a few stubbies of 3463 Forbidden Fruit if anyone in the Hills district/area would like to do a swap.

Cheers
DK


:super:

 

[schubidubi]

Thanks for this post.

I gave it a go to farm my yeast after making my first partial Hefeweizen. I followed the instructions and ended up with a milky liquid in my 6 Vials.
But looking into them this morning I only found a little sediment on the bottom. I hope this is right. It does not look like the yeast when I first bought it. There was much more sediment in it. Maybe I should fill the 6 Vials into 3?

 

[Weizguy]

Just leave it, for goodness' sake.

There's prob enough yeast in each vial to kick off a starter, and you may introduce contamination by opening and combining the vials.

It will all be good!

Seth out

 

[Brewer_010]

To add to this, I'm not sure if a large amount in a stubbie is a good idea anyway in case of continued fermentation (you'll end up with exploding yeast bottles).
My cultures usually have around 2-5mm worth of sediment at the bottom of each stubbie. These kick off pretty smartly with a stepped-up starter solution a few days before pitching.
Just chill, they'll be fine.

 

[amita]

hi All,
I am about to start my Hoegaarden( partial) and will be using Wyeast belgian wit 3944.
I want to make a starter and harvest as described in this (lenghty) topic but I can only find the info that people use DME.
I have some liquid wheat malt that I would like to use,
question:
can I use the LWM for my starter and how much do I use per liter of water, same as DME??100 ml to 1 liter of water.

I plan to add the LWM to boiling water and boil for 10 to sterilise and proceed according to the above instructions.
can anybody help me out here or should I go to the HBS and get some DME?

thanks, amita

 

[Ross]

hi All,
I am about to start my Hoegaarden( partial) and will be using Wyeast belgian wit 3944.
I want to make a starter and harvest as described in this (lenghty) topic but I can only find the info that people use DME.
I have some liquid wheat malt that I would like to use,
question:
can I use the LWM for my starter and how much do I use per liter of water, same as DME??100 ml to 1 liter of water.

I plan to add the LWM to boiling water and boil for 10 to sterilise and proceed according to the above instructions.
can anybody help me out here or should I go to the HBS and get some DME?

thanks, amita

LME contains 20% water, so in theory just add 20% more eg 120ml. Either way it will make little difference.
No need to go shooting off to the HBS

cheers Ross

 

[amita]

LME contains 20% water, so in theory just add 20% more eg 120ml. Either way it will make little difference.
No need to go shooting off to the HBS

cheers Ross

thanks Ross, ; will put the kettle on and get it on the way
cheers amita

 

[june]

Oh,this looks not bad!I say ,yeah,it's very well!

 

[bierbaron]

g,day guys.
im new to liquid yeast so, im just wondering what sort of activity i should see in a starter as the past few i have made havent foamed up that much. i split my packs into 4-5 vials and use one of those plus some water and sugar to make up 100-200 ml of liquid. i make the starter 2-3 days ahead of the brewday.

the last two batches i did didnt see much action so i dumped some packet yeast to kick them off.

so the question is, will a starter show normal signs of fermentation? am i doing something wrong????

 

[Stuster]

g,day guys.
im new to liquid yeast so, im just wondering what sort of activity i should see in a starter as the past few i have made havent foamed up that much. i split my packs into 4-5 vials and use one of those plus some water and sugar to make up 100-200 ml of liquid. i make the starter 2-3 days ahead of the brewday.

the last two batches i did didnt see much action so i dumped some packet yeast to kick them off.

so the question is, will a starter show normal signs of fermentation? am i doing something wrong????

A starter should show sign of normal fermentation, foaming, bubbles etc. Sounds like you might not have used malt. Did you use some malt, or just sugar? Growing little organisms need more than sugar (whatever my kids say). And did you boil up the starter with the malt and then cool it down, then add the yeast? If you are splitting up your pack like this, you'll probably be best to start with a 1L of starter. The ratio is 100g malt extract to 1L water. Boil for 15 minutes, cool quickly, then pitch yeast. 1L will do, but optimally for a 23L batch you might need a 2L starter, so once the first starter is going you can step it up to 2L (depends on the gravity of course).

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

g,day guys.
im new to liquid yeast so, im just wondering what sort of activity i should see in a starter as the past few i have made havent foamed up that much. i split my packs into 4-5 vials and use one of those plus some water and sugar to make up 100-200 ml of liquid. i make the starter 2-3 days ahead of the brewday.

the last two batches i did didnt see much action so i dumped some packet yeast to kick them off.

so the question is, will a starter show normal signs of fermentation? am i doing something wrong????

Sugar ? There is nothing in sugar in the way of nutrients for the yeast to increase its bio mass which is what you are aiming to do.If you are going to split the packs you should be building your starters with malt derived wort.Adding a Wyeast nutrient also aids in the building of a healthy starter.You would want more than 200ml of starter for a 20 L brew.I would suggest about 2 L of healthy viable yeast.I not unusual to see no action taking place but if you have set your starter up well it will be working.PM me and I will help you out.Got to go for dinner!
GB

 

[Darren]

Hey bier baron,

Just for starters, what part of the "smack pack" are you saving? or are you using Whitelabs vials?

cheers


Darren

EDIT: Oh shit, just noticed the thread was 8 pages long

 

[bierbaron]

ok, i use wyeast, so i split the yeast up (unsmacked) and then put the nutrient from the little plastic package into seperate vials as well. i usually use sugar, bit of water and some of the nutrient and yeast of course.
i guess my ratios are way off. will that have an impact?
but i thought because i am using a smaller amount of yeast (25-30 ml) i needed to make a small starter and build it up gradually??
anyways, i will get some DME tonight and try the 100g to i litre ratio.

cheers :beer: