I was all set to brew today but then I realized that I’d forgotten to get a starter going. I intended to but forgot before I went off to work. I’m not gonna brew because I don’t have a starter ready and I know that I need one but how quick can one be done?
Any tips or suggestions for getting a starter done in a minimal amount of time? Normally I’ve been planning on at least 3 days prior to cold crashing (bearing in mind I don’t have a stir plate).
I have had one be completely done in 24 hours. What yeast are you using?
This was gonna be WLP007 but I’m thinking more for any ale yeast.
I used to make a starter in the morning and by the time I got to brewing and cleanup I would just pitch it then. It usually took 8 hours before I would pitch it but I swirled it around every 10 minutes (I don’t have a stir plate either). All the beers came out fine that I used that quick starter method. What is the size of the batch?
The fastest start to fermentation I ever had, I made a starter the morning of brew day, no stir plate.
Took off within an hour or two. white labs 004 Irish ale yeast.
It’s always best to use similar wort at near the same temprature and pitch it still active. You want glycogen levels as high as possible in pitching yeast. Chilling to decant seems like torture.
actually, according to what I’ve read, it’s a good way to preserve glycogen reserves. The yeast goes dormant and doesn’t consume those reserves. Once you warm it up, they start feeding. You want that to happen in the wort, not the starter. At any rate, I can tell you from experience that cold pitching has worked great for me for well over 12 years that I’ve been doing it.
Actually dormant yeast do use those reserves,
She knows a lot more about than I do. But I totally agree, all that maters in the end is you make beer.
Can you get another pack? Just pitch two. When I’m rushed or forgetful, I just pitch two and it works fine.
If you can get the yeast to bud once you have the same number as two packs, but with higher vitality (glycogen levels). Noonan wrote yeast should bud with in two to six hours. That’s right inline with something Jamil wrote at mrmalty.com.
[quote]If you’re making a smaller starter, it is better to just pitch the entire active starter within about 6 to 12 hours of pitching the yeast into the starter.
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If you use the same wort at the same temp you can pitch huge active starters like the big brewers do.
I’m pretty much a noob and have not used a starter before. Does anyone have a surefire procedure that’s not too complicated that they would care to share?
+1
This video is good,
The Northerbrewer FAQ section is a great resource.
http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=100676
This is excellent info…
I think you’re missing the full context of the quote.
She also includes the caveat that “the rate of glycogen depletion is dependent on a number of factors, yeast strain and brewing conditions”.
So chilling overnight to decant will still retain glycogen reserves and let you pitch your yeast without the starter liquid.
Also, why is she saying 24-48 hours? Why not 0-48 hours? Does she think there is some advantage to waiting a day?
Well, it’s not about starters but harvesting. But then if you crash and decant that is essentially what your doing. I think it should read within a day or two, at least that’s how I read it. Pros do require a much higher degree of consistency that we do.
Someone claimed to directly repitch year old slurry–and it made beer. I’m sure it’s true. I don’t think it’s very good idea though.
Dan Gordon is a proponent of growing yeast not fermenting it, so a a 24 hr starter is in line with the aforementioned methodology. GB beer is amonst some of the best lagers available and I would subscribe to the idea of only growing yeast although as a homebrewer it can be challenging to stay on the yeast’s schedule.
I’m not a fan of pitching spent starter wort, but starter wort that is still in the growth stage may be okay to pitch. I’ve done it a few times without any off-flavors. YMMV
;D Awesome Assist! ;D
Thanks So Much
I enjoyed his article in Zymurgy. I wish he could have spent more time one yeast. I honestly don’t know how he could get enough yeast for 100 barrels without stepping it up in the fermenter.
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Drauflassen
Ok. So if I’m understanding this correctly, as long as your sanitation process is meticulous, you could drain say a gallon of chilled wort into your flask, aerate with oxygenate, pitch your yeast into the flask immediately (assuming it is at the proper fermentation temp) and then carefully add that to the main body of aerated wort when it reaches high krausen. Has anyone done this on a homebrew scale? I like the idea and many times weather, work and other conflicts have prevented me from pitching starters within 48 hours of making them. This process could also save one the time and expense of making starter wort and ensure a rapid start. What am I missing?