Yeast Starters Better Be Worth It

[joecast]

brewed up a pilsner last sunday and as i only decided to brew on saturday i didnt smack my yeast until brewday. didnt expect it to swell quickly, but no action for at least 24 hours and wasnt fully swelled up for three days.
make up a starter, step it up once and pitched today. granted, the starter looked the goods, the wort was spot on OG, color was crazy pale (all pils malt. expected some color from 90min boil), temp is right at 10C and it hasnt had to go in the fridge yet (bloody winter), and all looks promising.
really looking forward to this one and will use the yeast for a second brew in about a month.

anyway, i thought i would go with a 'proper' liquid lager yeast for this one and see if it convinces me. though for standard ales, i cant see going past dry yeast. just wanted to put that out there. happy brewing
joe

 

[matti]

All the best with it.
It is well wort it IMO.

 

[Sammus]

. though for standard ales, i cant see going past dry yeast.

lol I said the same thing till I tried one you cant get anywhere close to 1272 in dried for a yanky ale, or 1968 for a pommy one... not to mention all the various belgian and german ale yeasts

 

[buttersd70]

yep. Theres more to life (in ales) than just APA.....
show me a dry yeast suitable for a belgian blonde....or that gives the stonefruit esters of 1469...or the attenuation properties and massive ester hit of ringwood...lambic, anyone?....

Dry yeasts have their place, for sure. But not being able to see past dry yeast is tieing one hand behind your back.

 

[haysie]

What Wyeast was it Joe? For a lager I always build a big starter 3litres +, even then at times I have IMO underpitched.

 

[joecast]

2124 bohemian lager. was about 1.5 - 2L and bubbling nicely. gave the wort a good meter drop into the fermenter to aerate. now its just sit and wait time.

yeah, those belgian and german yeasts certainly have some attractive qualities. dont try and say me though dammit. ive made up my mind. well, at least until i have more time to spend on it. and upgrade my set up. and a better grain mill. and...

 

[reVoxAHB]

2124 bohemian lager. was about 1.5 - 2L and bubbling nicely. gave the wort a good meter drop into the fermenter to aerate. now its just sit and wait time.

I've done up to a 9L starter for 2124 (46L batch). Pitched@8C and had blowoff within 10 hours. Some will tell you just to brew beer at a 9L starter size, but I prefer to step it proper. Anyway, it's a fine yeast & you won't be disappointed.

reVox

 

[hoohaaman]

You definitely wont be disappointed with 2124,I recently used it in a Munich Helles I had previously always used 2206 in.
Due to a bad batch of 2206,was forced to use 2124.To say I was impressed was an understatement.

I no longer keep a 2206 culture,probably never will again.I just love the versatility of 2124.I now brew all lagers with it apart from an occasional dalliance with 2042,if I want to highlight the hops a bit more.

 

[Fourstar]

lol I said the same thing till I tried one you cant get anywhere close to 1272 in dried for a yanky ale, or 1968 for a pommy one... not to mention all the various belgian and german ale yeasts

You're telling me. doing side by sides with my housemates house ale and my cream ale (almost identical grist, only real difference was US05 and 1056) I CAN taste the difference it yeast profile. His is really estery and fruity where as mine is quite clean with some slight nuances of fruitiness. Completely different beers, mainly due to the yeast. His was not bad, but different to mine. Both very quaffable.

Either way, Bohemian Lager is a very good all rounder for lagers. I'd choose that as a substitute for a lager yeast over any dry yeast you can get your hands on.

 

[braufrau]

Poor old HWMBO is making his way through my bodiless dubbel I made with my broken thermometer (hence the lack of body). But the good news is, I used the proper yeast, WY-3787 (thanks ~Mike ) so it tastes like a dubbel! Definitely worth using the liquid yeast for belgians. The only dry yeast I use is US-56 for APAs.

I've got some 1768 here for an IPA .. can't wait to see how that turns out, but I will have to since its for consumption in January! Oh! oh! But I just realised ... 1 week in london sampling the real thing before hand! What good timing! :lol:

 

[Sammus]

You're telling me. doing side by sides with my housemates house ale and my cream ale (almost identical grist, only real difference was US05 and 1056) I CAN taste the difference it yeast profile. His is really estery and fruity where as mine is quite clean with some slight nuances of fruitiness. Completely different beers, mainly due to the yeast. His was not bad, but different to mine. Both very quaffable.

Either way, Bohemian Lager is a very good all rounder for lagers. I'd choose that as a substitute for a lager yeast over any dry yeast you can get your hands on.

wow with 1056 and us05? that was one pair I would've picked to make the smallest of differences! very interesting. Fermented at the same temp as well? higher temp could possibly account for more fruitiness and esteriness

 

[Fourstar]

wow with 1056 and us05? that was one pair I would've picked to make the smallest of differences! very interesting. Fermented at the same temp as well? higher temp could possibly account for more fruitiness and esteriness

Well we both fermented at the same time with correct pitching rates, both in the same temp controlled area. His threw a bucket load of fruity esters whlst mine was clean with the liiightest fruit. The palate was also different, you could taste the yeast fruitiness with his. With mine, it was very clean. We did use different hops however. His was Northern brewer and hallertau while mine was made with Goldings and cascade. I highly doubt this would have made a lick of difference to the fruit aroma as his where all 60 min additions and mine was made up of 60 for the Goldings and cascade (20 IBU) and 15mins (5IBU) for another cascade addition. The cascade was so little, you can hardly tell its there on the nose really. More so hop flavour.