This method will generally allow a brewer to make his/her starter the night before brewing, eliminating the need for a long lead time (i.e., it is almost as convenient as using dry yeast). That being said, the method will still work if a brewer finds himself/herself unable to brew until after the starter ferments out. A fermented out shaken, not stirred starter works as well as any other starter of the same volume that is allowed to ferment out. However, the key to maximizing this method or any other starter method is to pitch at high krausen.
UPDATE: Today is a week after brewing. I took a gravity reading and it’s down to 1.013, which is where it would be with my old starter method. So, attenuation has not been an issue…not that I really expected it to be. I have a sample chilling and carbing in a PET bottle. I’ll taste it later today.
Denny, what pressure do you hit the carb cap with? Shake? How long do you chill it?
I do 30 psi, shake like mad, hit it again, shake, and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
EDIT: Of course, I recognize I’m not Denny…
It’s all good. I can get a consensus this way.
I do 30psi chilled…pretty quick
Good to hear on the technique - I had a high psi and had some backwash into the CO2 line when rocking at 30 psi. It makes sense to hit it then shake it with the CO2 disconnected…
For my starters <1.040 I hit them with air stone & pump till foamed to the top then onto the shaker table.
For my starters >1.075 I hit them with O2 till foamed to the top then onto the shaker table.
Been very pleased with my yeast performance this past year using this new technique, especially with big beers >1.080 OG and Belgian yeasts.
Denny must have tried this by now - interested to hear what he thinks…
I think it’s been demonstrated pretty conclusively that one can brew excellent beer that scores well and wins ribbons in major competitions with yeast that was propagated on a stir plate.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a better way, nor does it preclude the possibility that stir plates are useless or even detrimental for our purposes.
I’m looking forward to reading about everyone’s experiments.
People have won gold medals with beers pitched directly from the old-style Wyeast smack packs.
I have never claimed that my method is the “be all, end all” way to make a starter, and I hope that people do not attempt to treat it that way. I have always sold my method as a low-cost, low-tech, low-stress method of making a healthy yeast starter that performs as well, if not better than other methods.
I out 12 oz. in a 20 oz. PET bottle. Squeeze out the air and hit it with 30 psi, shaking the crap out of it. In the freezer for 45 min. Then drink!
Great minds, dude!
I shake with the CO2 connected. I keep the bottle uprioght so no flow back.
DEEEE-LISHUS! At just one week after brewing, the beer was fantastic! It reinforced my belief in Dr. Cone’s theory because it was cleaner and less estery than when I’ve used a larger starter made on a stir plate. And that includes the fact that I pitched the starter wort. I think that the “conventional wisdom” about pitching rates and esters must be strain dependent. More details when I have more time.
Great news.
He started the thread. Were all waiting to hear his opinion on the finished product.
EDIT: Nevermind. Tapatalk made me look foolish! He already posted his results!
yeah, I just meant tried the carbed beer 
Understood. Long day today! [emoji12]
It’s also possible you were over pitching in the past. For 5 gallons of 1.060 ish wort, you really only need 200 billion cells to hit the “textbook” ale pitching rate. That’s maybe a 1L starter on a stir plate.