Re: Multiplying yeast in a gallon starter - how much?

Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:20 pm

well, I'm not sure. You have done a couple of steps and now you have a total of 2L... if you add another two liters you will probably have too much yeast, and if you dont, you wont have enough.\

In this instance, I suspect that you would be better off leaving well enough alone and just pitching the starter you already have. Every time you open it to do something, you add an infection risk.

Just for next time, read all the stuff about yeast on Mr Malty, listen to the Yeast Starters episode of brew strong and aim for as close to the rate recommended by the calculator as you can.

For simple starters ... anything less than a 1L starter is effectively pointless for yeast growth, there are enough cells in a vial/smackpack so that it needs little to no growth to reach its maximum cell density and it will just start fermenting the wort straight away - you are actually making things worse by making a small starter.

For ales - even quite big ones, you wont often need significantly more than a 1G starter, with a little extra effort such as intermittent shaking... you will be fine with a one step starter in your gallon jug for beers up to a gravity of 1.090. A little foam control to stop it all ending up on the kitchen bench and you are off

Thirsty
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Thirsty Boy
 
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Re: Multiplying yeast in a gallon starter - how much?

Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:38 pm

Thank you for the tips Thirsty!
I will definitely do a one step starter next time.
I ended up brewing the batch today and pitching the 1L starter that I made.
I was tempted to trash it and start over but decided against it.
I added a pound of Belgian candy to the boil.
When I took the og reading, if I did it right, it came out to 1.1000.
I hope that's a good thing.
The whole precess went much smoother this time so I think that I'm getting a system down.
I just need to do a little more studying on hydrometers and such.

Thank you for the help!!

cheers,
Brannon
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bsegroves
 
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Re: Multiplying yeast in a gallon starter - how much?

Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:08 pm

I'm pretty stoked.
Less than 24 hrs later the airlock is going crazy. Waay more than my other batches.
The yeast and the sugar are having a huge orgy in there.
I made this time lapse this morning. I think it has sped up even more since then.


http://flickr.com/photos/bsegroves/3264776474/

cheers
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