Yeast Starter or no?

[InAthensGa]

Hey there everyone. I'm gonna be doing a nice 5 gallon batch of stout (chocolate, black and roasted malts with Cascade and Willamette) on Sunday and I'm wondering if it's necessary to do a yeast starter? I bought some Wyeast British Ale II today and its only 2 days old. Do you think that's sufficient? It's going to be a higher gravity beer as I'm adding close to 10-12 lbs of malt extract. What are your thoughts? THanks! Cheers!

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

I used to make starters for only beers that were higher than 1.070, but now I make them for everything. Whether it's needed or not, your beer will benefit from healthy, active yeast.

 

[InAthensGa]

Yeah -- I was thinking the same thing. So I should punch the pack righht and make the starter later tonight. Give the yeast starter 3 days before pitching.

 

[BigTerp]

I to make starters with all my beers that use liquid yeast. Some like to pitch at high krausen (12-18 hours after making starter). I like to leave my starter on the stirplate for 24 hours and then chill for at least 18-24 hours. This allows the yeast to settle tighly on the bottom of my flask so I can decant the liquid and pitch the slurry. You don't have to smack your pack, but I usually do just to give the yeast a little head start before pitching into my starter.

 

[Daybis]

I use starters on all of my beers. Starters and temp control have been the biggest improvement on the quality of my beers, so I would highly recommend doing a starter.

 

[kh54s10]

The inner pack in Wyeast smack packs is nutrients. It is not necessary but gives the yeast a boost. Starters are to get the yeast cells to multiply before pitching. In the wort without a starter the yeast will multiply first then start converting the sugars. This lag time is when undesired flavors may be produced. Smack packs contain only a portion of the cells needed for fermentation. mrmalty.com will tell you what you need for your OG. You could pitch more smack packs but that costs a lot more that making a starter

 

[InAthensGa]

Made the starter last night. Don't have a stir plate but I'm shaking it up at least once an hour to keep things going. Stupid question: what's the best way to get the yeast slurry from the bottom of my starter jar? I have a feeling its not gonna flow freely when i pitch it in the wort.

 

[kh54s10]

After the starter has fermented it's wort you can put it in the fridge and the yeast and trub will settle to the bottom. You can then pour off most of the "beer". I leave just a little and swirl it around to loosen the yeast cake and pitch it. You don't have to decant though. If you want you can swirl it and pitch the whole thing. I did that with one and ended up with a very full carboy. Glad I installed the blow-off right away because it spewed a lot!

 

[InAthensGa]

Cool...I guess I can also stick a sanitized knife or something of the sort to loosen up the yeast if it sticks to the bottom.

 

[Aunt_Ester]

Cool...I guess I can also stick a sanitized knife or something of the sort to loosen up the yeast if it sticks to the bottom.

I don't recommend sticking anything into the yeast. I'd just boil some water for 15 minutes, cool it, and then add it to the bottom. After a good swirl all the yeast should become suspended. I've never had an issue.

 

[InAthensGa]

I don't recommend sticking anything into the yeast. I'd just boil some water for 15 minutes, cool it, and then add it to the bottom. After a good swirl all the yeast should become suspended. I've never had an issue.

THanks for the advice!

 

[unionrdr]

I've used either a sanitized fork or sanitize the probe on my quick check thermometer & stir my starters & re-hydrated yeast with that. No worries at all.

 

[jmm635]

Refrigerate overnight and then pour off all the liquid except for the bottom inch or so. Swirl vigorously until the liquid is cloudy. Tilt the jar and see if anything is still stuck to the bottom. It's really not as sticky as it looks. You won't have a problem.

 

[Chefencore]

I use another magnet to get the stubborn bits with my stir bar. I use the same magnet to keep the stirbar out of my carboy!!

 

[Aunt_Ester]

I use another magnet to get the stubborn bits with my stir bar. I use the same magnet to keep the stirbar out of my carboy!!

haha! That actually sounds like fun.