Yeast starter

[Goodbeer]

G'day guys

I've just made my first yeast starter. I'm putting down a hefe tomorrow, using white labs WLP300 Hefeweizen ale yeast.

Boiled 100g of wheat DME for 15 mins, cooled to 20c before pitching

Took yeast out of fridge 7hrs before pitching.

After pitching put seal on, and gave it a good shake.

Have it in the fridge at 22c.

Just after a couple of opinions on my method. I watched a few clips this week about making starters, tried to mix it altogether.

Cheers

 

[Goodbeer]

Sorry, boiled the 100g in 750ml water

 

[Rocker1986]

Usually the rate is 100g/L, but it probably won't be too much of an issue in only 750mL. I normally do starters at room temp but your temps may be too low to do this with ale yeast - I say this because it helps the growth of the yeast to shake it regularly, say, whenever you walk past it give it a shake or whatever. A stir plate is better but intermittent shaking works too.

 

[bungers81]

100g into 1 litre is the typical amount for a 1.040ish gravity, but I am no expert. That is what I use for my starters. Otherwise I use Mr Malty. I am happy to be corrected though. I use a stir plate for all my starters now.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

My methods vary only a little. I boil a wort of any kind, usually saved leftover clear wort then frozen. Dilute, (chefs discretion) Starter wort should be around 1.035 to 1.040.
I simmer that wort in a Pirex flask for around 15 minutes then chill that flask in a 10lt bucket of chilled water. Chefs judgements should get to pitching temp around 18c for ale, 13c for lager. The yeast (dry or wet) should be the same as the pitch temp. That is important!
Stir plate for usually 6 or more hours (the time of an all grain brewing day). By that time you will see the yeast is alive and proven itself. (allways has been for me).
Then pitch with enthusiasm. :chug:

 

[Goodbeer]

Yeah 100g per litre is what I had read, however I bought a flask to do starters in, and it came with instructions, which said 600ml for the 100g it came with....so went for somewhere in between.

Should I have aerated the wort before pitching? Usually would with a full batch, but watched a clip of a guy aerating after pitching, so gave that a go.

 

[Rocker1986]

I use a similar method as above, with some differences. I actually "no-chill" my starters. I boil them in the flask, then cover the flask with foil and boil again for another 30 seconds or so, then turn the heat off and let it sit there until it drops to room temp (except in the height of summer I will chill them in the sink full of water). This works well with my split shifts at work. The yeast is removed from the fridge in adequate time to let it warm up to room temp, normally at the same time I am preparing/boiling the starter wort. They sit on the stir plate for about 24 hours for ales, 48 or more for lagers depending on visible activity. Once the stir plate is off I let them sit another day or two, then turn it back on to mix it all up again in order to portion some off into a mason jar for future use (process is repeated with said jar the next time). Then it gets put in the fridge for a day or two to drop the yeast out so I can decant most of the spent beer off it before pitching into the batch.

Have always had good results from doing this.

 

[Goodbeer]

Thanks guys, great info.

Pitched 8.5 hrs ago, was up twice during the night so gave it a swirl a couple of times, is bubbling away with a healthy looking Krausen.

 

[Goodbeer]

 

[Rocker1986]

Looking good mate. Keep swirling it each time you get a chance, should go nicely.

 

[Goodbeer]

Yeah it's coming along. It's midday now, pitched at 10.15 last night.
Am planning on pitching into the wort at about two, but is still quite active...

Am I right to pitch if it's still like this in a couple of hours?

 

[Tropico]

A couple of quick questions, anyone add nutrient to their starters (and how much), and is it necessary to boil the nutrient with the wort or just add with yeast?

 

[Brew Forky]

Yeah it's coming along. It's midday now, pitched at 10.15 last night.
Am planning on pitching into the wort at about two, but is still quite active...

Am I right to pitch if it's still like this in a couple of hours?

You can pitch in 2 different ways. One is pitching the whole starter at high krausen which is where yours is at now, that is if you don't mind changing the wort ever so slightly with the 750ml of plain starter you have and it should take off quite quickly.

The other method is to let it ferment out fully, chuck it in fridge until settled and then pour the starter wort off and pitch the yeast. Apparently the 2nd way creates sturdier yeast through a few alterations from the process.

All in all, up to you and both methods make good beer in my experience.

 

[Dan Pratt]

Just add it to the boil. Some people add oxygen and yeast nutrient to the starter but personally I haven't and the yeast goes according to schedule.

 

[TheWiggman]

Goodbeer, the airlock isn't ideal for a yeast starter. A loosely fitted bit of aluminium foil will allow some gas exchange (namely oxygen) to aid in yeast quantity and health. Plus, keep the starter warmer than normal ferment temps (~21-23°C for lagers, 26-28°C for ales) because you are propagating yeast, not fermenting beer. This applies to yeast that is decanted prior to pitching which is my preferred method.
And I'm all about the yeast nutrient in the starter.

 

[jc64]

Yep just foil over that flask, no airlock, I would decant and just pitch the yeast.

 

[Screwtop]

Yep just foil over that flask, no airlock, I would decant and just pitch the yeast.

Then that would be pitching yeast. Not a starter!

Remember yeast cells bud/multiply depending upon how much food/sugar and oxygen is available to the cell walls (cell walls take in sugar so the more cells per ml of wort = less budding) So.... pitching a vial (if fresh 100 billion cells) of yeast (enough for 19L) to 1 litre of wort is not going to result in much reproduction.

Benefits of using a starter made from something foreign (ie: not the wort you made)?? Meeeeh!!!

Much better to remove two or three litres of your wort post boil, chill to room temp, pitch your yeast and then once the starter is active (about 8 hrs) pitch this "starter wort" to the remainder of the wort in your fermenter.

The method of pitching yeast to 1 litre and letting it ferment out, pouring off the wort and adding the remaining yeast is a good method of conditioning the yeast if it's not really fresh.

Yeast makes beer! So pitch as fresh as you can get and pitch plenty of it!!

Screwy

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Seems relatively Ok, with the addition of the advice above. For what it's worth though, if there's one liquid yeast that doesn't need a starter, it's WLP300. Starts like a monster and many feel you get a nicer eater profile with an under pitch.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

An alternate method is to draw out 1-2 ltrs from your fermenter when its at high krausen and use that as your yeast starter for your next brew. Just pitch the whole lot then draw out 2-2l again...etc...etc


Note.. Not really suitable if you draw out from a stout to pitch into a pale

 

[Goodbeer]

Thanks everyone

How good is this forum??? Rekon I've learnt more from your replies than All the YouTube clips under the sun!

Cheers