Yeast Starter

[Margwar]

Hi all,

I am doing a Bohiemian Pilsner and need a little advice on my starter please.

I have used one packet of Wyeast 2001 - Urquell Lager and grown a starter to around 2L now...
Mr Malty reckons I should of used 2 packs and then grown to 2L. Because I have only used 1 packet do I need to grow it more or should my 2L be enough??
Also there is a lot of yeast now on the bottom of my starter bottle (around 2cm in a 3L juice bottle), is this OK and still vialble yeast?

Thanks again...

 

[manticle]

The stuff at the bottom is what you are growing. The stuff at the top should be discarded if you have agitated it (shaken, stirred on a stirplate etc) after krausen appeared or if you fermneted the starter at higher than ferment temps. If grown using ferment temps (so lager temps in this case) and treated gently, you should be fine to pitch the lot.

As for the amounts - I think you can recalculate using Mr malty to make up for the use of one pack.

Just checked mr malty. If the date on the yeast is (for example) 10/05/2010, and you are aerating your starter at the beginning and your OG is 1050, you need 2 packs of yeast built to 4 litres.

For 1 pack it suggests you need 9 litres.

To be honest I have always struggled with Mr malty but he's probably right and I'm probably not. Anyway shift the growth slider bar until you get to 1 starter pack required and see how many litres you need.

Tip for anyone who's never used Mr malty - make sure you type 1.040 rather than 1040 if you don't want to be told to add 60 litres of starter to your wort.

 

[Bandito]

What volume of wort are you pitching into?

I just checked the mr malty page I loaded last night, and for some reason it was set to noverber 2009. I set it to the actual production date and it went down from 6 packs to 1.

 

[Margwar]

My Yeast was Dated May 10 and I am pitching to 21L.... I looked at Mr Malty again too and 9L is a shiteload of starter!!
Maybe I could decant then gow more?? Should of stayed with Ales....

 

[Bandito]

Here's a question I havnt seen asked or answered before: Wouldnt you consider the slurry that has settled to the bottom as 'repitching from slurry' on mr malty? (perhaps with a bit more non yeast percentage) Cos a starter in my mind is just a wort at high krausen.

Dont get too bumed out dude, you wont get arrested and locked up in guantanamo for more than a year for pitching the slurry you have so far . It will start up.

 

[Screwtop]

Hi all,

I am doing a Bohiemian Pilsner and need a little advice on my starter please.

I have used one packet of Wyeast 2001 - Urquell Lager and grown a starter to around 2L now...
Mr Malty reckons I should of used 2 packs and then grown to 2L. Because I have only used 1 packet do I need to grow it more or should my 2L be enough??
Also there is a lot of yeast now on the bottom of my starter bottle (around 2cm in a 3L juice bottle), is this OK and still vialble yeast?

Thanks again...

Sounds like you need to propagate yeast rather than make a starter at this stage. If your current batch has finished fermenting (take a gravity reading), pop it in the fridge for 24 hrs to drop out, pour off the beer leaving a little in the bottom, swirl up and pour into a 4L starter, or if you only have access to 2L containers then split it and make two 2L starters or steps if you need more yeast. When you have enough to pitch, then pitch when the yeast is good and active, lots of action, not necessarily krausen, look through the wort using a torch, if you see lots of Co2 bubbles running up the inside of the container then it's ready to pitch.

Cheers,

Screwy

 

[Bandito]

As I am making a starter atm too, I listened to this last night. It has Jamil (the guy that made mr malty (I think thats his name)). Brew Strong Yeast Starters on 'The Brewing Network'. http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-St...-Yeast-Starters
Its a very quick download at about 100KB per second.

 

[Margwar]

Sounds like you need to propagate yeast rather than make a starter at this stage. If your current batch has finished fermenting (take a gravity reading), pop it in the fridge for 24 hrs to drop out, pour off the beer leaving a little in the bottom, swirl up and pour into a 4L starter, or if you only have access to 2L containers then split it and make two 2L starters or steps if you need more yeast. When you have enough to pitch, then pitch when the yeast is good and active, lots of action, not necessarily krausen, look through the wort using a torch, if you see lots of Co2 bubbles running up the inside of the container then it's ready to pitch.

Cheers,

Screwy

OK... now I am a little confused.
I thought that you had to grow a starter to a size that was right for the beer you were making. For this starter I added 1 pckt of Wyeast to 500ml wort. I then every 12 hours I have added another 500ml of wort. It is now around 2l to 2.5l in size. I can still see bubbles in it.... Have I gone about this all wrong?

Cheers,

Dietz

 

[Margwar]

As I am making a starter atm too, I listened to this last night. It has Jamil (the guy that made mr malty (I think thats his name)). Brew Strong Yeast Starters on 'The Brewing Network'. http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/Brew-St...-Yeast-Starters
Its a very quick download at about 100KB per second.

Thanks Bandito... I have become an BN addict and have listened to that podcast... thats why I thought I had to make a big starter. I may have this all arse about...

 

[seemax]

I had a 6 month old Wyeast Cal Lager... i fermented it in 3L of 1.040 wort at 18C. Days after krausen the yeast population is sitting on the bottom, fridge it for a bit then pour off the wort, swirl it up and pitch it.

That's my standard "starter" process.. if in doubt check the volume of yeast compared to the slurry pitching rate... that should be a pretty good guide.

 

[manticle]

My understanding is that making a starter and stepping up/growing/propogating yeast are two different things although they may be combined.

As far as I understand - a starter is actively fermenting yeast that is raging and ready to go. The profile of the wort that got it to that point should be similar to the profile of the beer to be fermented.

To propagate or step up yeast will use a similar process but you can build up to the level you want then store for future use (and then make a starter from said yeast). Starters are ready at high krausen provided the amount of yeast is as appropriate.

I tend to step up into an aaproriate size wort then build to high krauisen and pitch. I make sure my starter temps are the same as intended ferment temps (which takes longer) and that I don't agitate after any sign of krausen). otherwise I would have to pour of the wort/beer from the starter and just pitch the slurry.

This is just what has worked for me (many times). Plenty of info in Palmer and braukaiser for slants, propagation and starters.