How long do you let your starter go

[Ticebain]

Just made a stir plate. Going to start making real starters now. I've always made 2cup dme starters in a growler and let them sit for about 24 hours. Agitating whenever I remember to.
Now on a stir plate How long do you let yours go?

 

[aiptasia]

Well, there's two schools of thought: Completely ferment the starter and decant (takes about 5 days) or pitch everything at peak krausen (1-2 days). Either method is acceptable. You can either ferment out the starter completely and then decant off the beer and pitch or just dump everything into your wort once the starter reaches krausen. I've done both. Both techniques are fine.

 

[RM-MN]

Well, there's two schools of thought: Completely ferment the starter and decant (takes about 5 days) or pitch everything at peak krausen (1-2 days). Either method is acceptable. You can either ferment out the starter completely and then decant off the beer and pitch or just dump everything into your wort once the starter reaches krausen. I've done both. Both techniques are fine.

What happens if you let the starter completely ferment out and then pitch everything?

 

[frazier]

What happens if you let the starter completely ferment out and then pitch everything?

You end up with beer. But IMO, the starter is not the recipe - wrong OG, no hops, short boil, etc. Also, I like to make big starters. Which is why I generally decant off most of it.

Cheers,

 

[kh54s10]

18-24 hours. Then if 1 liter or smaller I will pitch the else whole thing. If larger I chill it and decant.

From what I have read any longer and you are not producing any more yeast, they are then just fermenting the beer.

 

[BigFloyd]

On a stir plate, 14-16 hours will accomplish the cell growth phase of the process (according to the folks at White Labs).

Without the plate, it takes roughly twice that time to grow the culture.

 

[northcal]

I let it go two days, then let it settle and pour off the supernatant. I like to add mostly just the yeast and very little media to the wort.

 

[BigFloyd]

I have to correct what I posted earlier today. It was Greg Doss at Wyeast who was talking about the negatives of leaving a starter too long on the plate and he said 18-24 hours, not 14-16.

 

[Ticebain]

Thanks everyone. This has been a helpful thread. I too am inclined not to let the starter ferment out. I want a very high living to dead cell ratio so I'll prob let it sit about 18-24 hours

 

[CA_Mouse]

I make my starter usually 14 -16 hours before I plan to pitch it. I tried the 24 hour, but unless I'm making my starter on Saturday to pitch Sunday my brew times restrict that. I make my starter about 9-10pm on Friday and plan to pitch about 2-3pm on Saturday and haven't had any off flavors or major issues.

 

[norsk]

Depends on the beer and the yeast, but I usually add the entire starter after 8-12 hours on the stir plate... Bigger beers and larger volumes are usually stepped at least once...

 

[Chadwick]

I make my starter usually 14 -16 hours before I plan to pitch it. I tried the 24 hour, but unless I'm making my starter on Saturday to pitch Sunday my brew times restrict that. I make my starter about 9-10pm on Friday and plan to pitch about 2-3pm on Saturday and haven't had any off flavors or major issues.

I do this exact same thing. I don't get too excited about exact times. As long as my started has had at least 12 hours to get busy, it's good to go. I have allowed them to go 24hrs, other times they get 12hrs. If I know it's going to be one of my BIG BEERS, I actually do take care that I allow them no less than 18hrs. I like to see a krausen in my starter if I'm doing a big beer. I pitch it all every time.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Well, there's two schools of thought: Completely ferment the starter and decant (takes about 5 days) or pitch everything at peak krausen (1-2 days). Either method is acceptable. You can either ferment out the starter completely and then decant off the beer and pitch or just dump everything into your wort once the starter reaches krausen. I've done both. Both techniques are fine.

I switch between these methods depending on the size of starter needed and what kind of timeframe I have. If I only need a liter starter, I'll sometimes make it ~20-24 hours ahead of time, put it on the stir plate, and pitch the next day.

Although even with small starters sometimes, but definitely if I'm making a bigger starter than that, I'll give it 24-36 hours on the stir plate, cold crash it for a day or two, decant and pitch.

Keep in mind that if you're aerating a large starter on a stir plate, any oxidative flavors you create in the excess starter beer will make it into the finished beer.