So I just got a new 2L flask and I built a stir plate and was wondering about making a starter for a 10 gallon batch of American ale. OG should be around 1.056. How many days beforehand should I start to make my yeast starter? I'm planning on brewing next weds 4/4/12. I usually just dump a vial of white labs in without making a starter but because of the size of the batch (and my new equipment) I wanted to make one. my feeling was 3 days prior?
yeast starter
- Thread starter bige9920
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
deepcdan99
Well-Known Member
I have made them the day before but 48 hours should be plenty.
Brew-boy
Well-Known Member
Depends if you want to pitch the entire flask into you beer or not. When I make very light beers like Helles or Pilsners i will crash the starter for a few days then decant the liquid on top. I then add a few 100ml of new wort to wake them up on brew day and then pitch that. An American ale you will probably be ok pitch the whole thing.
well here is the thing, i'm actually using the same recipe for 2 styles. my buddy is not a fan of IPA but i LOVE them. so to compromise i am going to brew the same beer and hop the heck outa mine to make it a IPA and his will have only 2 hop addition. we both have kettles but we are also bussiness partners and we got one mash tun between us to this is a bit of an experiment. looking forward to seeing how it turns out. so i was going to make 1 starter and split between the 2 batches. does anyone see any problem in this?
oh and for fun here is the recipe i am going with.
20 lbs 2 row
1.5 lbs cara pils
.5 lbs cystal 120
hops for mine is
1 oz chinook 60 min
1 oz chinook 30 min
1 oz saaz 0 min
1 oz tettnang for dry hopping
his is
1 oz cascade 60 min
1 oz liberty 0 min
the recipe originally for the grains was 1/2 of everything. i just figured i should double the recipe for 2 batches. is my reasoning sound with this. never did a 10 gallon from a 5 gal recipe. not sure if i need to consider anything else for scaling up to 10... any thoughts would be very welcome!!
hoppy brewing
oh and for fun here is the recipe i am going with.
20 lbs 2 row
1.5 lbs cara pils
.5 lbs cystal 120
hops for mine is
1 oz chinook 60 min
1 oz chinook 30 min
1 oz saaz 0 min
1 oz tettnang for dry hopping
his is
1 oz cascade 60 min
1 oz liberty 0 min
the recipe originally for the grains was 1/2 of everything. i just figured i should double the recipe for 2 batches. is my reasoning sound with this. never did a 10 gallon from a 5 gal recipe. not sure if i need to consider anything else for scaling up to 10... any thoughts would be very welcome!!
hoppy brewing
I'm not pro but since you are using a stir plate I think you can drastically cut down your starter time. I just made a starter yesterday using my stirplate and it's pretty much good do go after only 24 hours. since I'm probably brewing tomorrow, I think I"m just gonna let it be but if i push my brew day back any, I'll put it in the fridge
There is a must-read article on starters here:
http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.php
The author recommends 12-18 hours.
Here is an excerpt that you may find helpful:
"Q: At what point do I pitch the starter into the wort?
A great deal of discussion rages over this topic. Should the starter be fermented completely, the spent liquid decanted, and the yeast pitched or should the entire starter be pitched when at the height of activity?
Most yeast experts say that when propagating yeast, moving at high krausen is optimal. The time of high krauesen can range anywhere from a few hours to twenty-four or more. It depends on the amount of yeast added to the starter wort, yeast health, temperature, and several other factors.
Doss says a starter made from an XL pack of yeast into 2 liters of wort will reach its maximum cell density within 12-18 hours. If you're starting with a very small amount of yeast in a large starter, it can take 24 hours or more to reach maximum cell densities. For the average starter, let's just say that the bulk of the yeast growth is done by 12-18 hours.
I like to pitch starters while they're still very active and as soon as the bulk of reproduction is finished, usually within 12 to 18 hours. This is really convenient, because I can make a starter the morning of the brew day or the night before and it is ready to go by the time the batch of wort is ready. "
http://www.mrmalty.com/starter_faq.php
The author recommends 12-18 hours.
Here is an excerpt that you may find helpful:
"Q: At what point do I pitch the starter into the wort?
A great deal of discussion rages over this topic. Should the starter be fermented completely, the spent liquid decanted, and the yeast pitched or should the entire starter be pitched when at the height of activity?
Most yeast experts say that when propagating yeast, moving at high krausen is optimal. The time of high krauesen can range anywhere from a few hours to twenty-four or more. It depends on the amount of yeast added to the starter wort, yeast health, temperature, and several other factors.
Doss says a starter made from an XL pack of yeast into 2 liters of wort will reach its maximum cell density within 12-18 hours. If you're starting with a very small amount of yeast in a large starter, it can take 24 hours or more to reach maximum cell densities. For the average starter, let's just say that the bulk of the yeast growth is done by 12-18 hours.
I like to pitch starters while they're still very active and as soon as the bulk of reproduction is finished, usually within 12 to 18 hours. This is really convenient, because I can make a starter the morning of the brew day or the night before and it is ready to go by the time the batch of wort is ready. "
