Start Starting Starters!
It is no secret, homebrewing is a lot of work, a labor of love if you will. From planning out your recipe, going to the homebrew shop to pick up your yeast, grains and hops, measuring and milling, cleaning and sanitizing equipment, standing over a boiling kettle, and cleaning up your impressive brew day mess. One of the single most important things that will affect the quality of your batch is yeast count and health. And compared to your other brew day activities....its easy!
The best things you can do for your beer is to make a yeast starter. This will ensure that you have ample yeast count and that they are healthy and hungry to munch down all that sugar. It will also reduce the risk of your batch developing off flavors.
You may be thinking, "This all sounds fine and great but what the heck is a yeast starter?"
I am glad you asked!
A yeast starter is basically making a mini beer. You mix yeast with fresh wort and allow it to incubate and propagate, resulting in a slurry of healthy yeast, with a much greater cell count then when you started. It can be pitched right into your aerated wort!
The method below is how I make starters, there are many different ways.
Materials:
1. Ensure flask is clean and free of debris
2. Pour 150g of DME into dry erlanmyer flask (100g DME / 1L of water gives approx. 1.040SG)
3. Fill the flask to 1.5L mark of water
4. Swirl water around to completely dissolve DME
5. Place flask on gas stove-top burner (not electric!)
6. Bring to a boil for 15min, standing beside it, oven mitt in hand. A boil over can happen in seconds in a flask, be ready to remove the flask from heat!!!
7. Place flask directly into sink of cold, icy water and cool wort to around 72F (22C), even if using a lager yeast.
8. Sanatize yeast package, stir bar, and a pair of scissors
9. Carefully pour liquid yeast into flask
10. Drop in stir bar if using stir plate
11. Cover tightly with a sanatized piece of aluminum foil
12. Give the flask a good swirl
13. Place on stir plate for at least 24 hours
Congratulations, you have a yeast starter! Now what do you do?
Next Steps:
If I am brewing in a few days I will toss the flask in the fridge to crash for at least 12 hours and prepare to split the yeast starter in two. One half is used for brew day and the other half goes into the yeast bank.
Stay tuned for the next post on harvesting yeast...the easy way!
Cheers,
Graham
The best things you can do for your beer is to make a yeast starter. This will ensure that you have ample yeast count and that they are healthy and hungry to munch down all that sugar. It will also reduce the risk of your batch developing off flavors.
You may be thinking, "This all sounds fine and great but what the heck is a yeast starter?"
I am glad you asked!
A yeast starter is basically making a mini beer. You mix yeast with fresh wort and allow it to incubate and propagate, resulting in a slurry of healthy yeast, with a much greater cell count then when you started. It can be pitched right into your aerated wort!
The method below is how I make starters, there are many different ways.
Materials:
- Liquid yeast to propagate
- 2-4 Liter erlenmeyer flask made from borosilicate glass
- Pale dry malt extract
- stir plate with stir bar (not necessary but recommended)
- aluminum foil
- sanitizer
1. Ensure flask is clean and free of debris
2. Pour 150g of DME into dry erlanmyer flask (100g DME / 1L of water gives approx. 1.040SG)
3. Fill the flask to 1.5L mark of water
4. Swirl water around to completely dissolve DME
5. Place flask on gas stove-top burner (not electric!)
6. Bring to a boil for 15min, standing beside it, oven mitt in hand. A boil over can happen in seconds in a flask, be ready to remove the flask from heat!!!
7. Place flask directly into sink of cold, icy water and cool wort to around 72F (22C), even if using a lager yeast.
8. Sanatize yeast package, stir bar, and a pair of scissors
9. Carefully pour liquid yeast into flask
10. Drop in stir bar if using stir plate
11. Cover tightly with a sanatized piece of aluminum foil
12. Give the flask a good swirl
13. Place on stir plate for at least 24 hours
Congratulations, you have a yeast starter! Now what do you do?
Next Steps:
If I am brewing in a few days I will toss the flask in the fridge to crash for at least 12 hours and prepare to split the yeast starter in two. One half is used for brew day and the other half goes into the yeast bank.
Stay tuned for the next post on harvesting yeast...the easy way!
Cheers,
Graham
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