Can I use a Mason Jar to make a starter?

It is food grade glass and will sanitize easily. Would this work? I really want to make a starter tomorrow

Second very stupid question

Can I use dry yeast to make a starter?

Stupid answer 1: you could, assuming you had a way to keep things from coming in the top while letting pressure escape. You need to keep the bacteria out and let CO2 escape.

Stupid answer 2: you could, by probably dont need to if you’re doing a 5 gallon batch and it isn’t a crazy high gravity beer

You can use a mason jar for a starter. Just cover it with aluminum foil. BUT you do not want to make a starter with dry yeast. It is actually detrimental to dry yeast as they are produced with their energy reserves and these are depleted with a starter.

[quote=“556man”]Second very stupid question

Can I use dry yeast to make a starter?[/quote]

Yes, you can make a starter with dry yeast. I’ll qualify that with you can make a starter with Danstar yeast. The following link is to the Lallemend site.

http://www.danstaryeast.com/articles/ae ... ersus-wort

The 0.2% sugar level may be the key to a healthy starter.
There is another technical article on another aspect of making a starter. Not as much information here that you can find for liquid yeast starters because the articles are in response to specific questions.

Yes… Just stick some aluminum foil over the top.

[quote=“flars”][quote=“556man”]Second very stupid question

Can I use dry yeast to make a starter?[/quote]

Yes, you can make a starter with dry yeast. I’ll qualify that with you can make a starter with Danstar yeast. The following link is to the Lallemend site.

http://www.danstaryeast.com/articles/ae ... ersus-wort

The 0.2% sugar level may be the key to a healthy starter.
There is another technical article on another aspect of making a starter. Not as much information here that you can find for liquid yeast starters because the articles are in response to specific questions.[/quote]

That .2% sugar level is in reference to how they grow yeast in the lab, any starter you make will be much higher. I believe the point here is that for normal 5 gallon batches a starter is not recommended for dry yeast. There are enough cells and the yeast is packaged in such a way that you can simply pitch with no need for added oxygen. If you make a starter you’ll be depleting those reserves, growing more yeast(which as already mentioned is not really needed) and may still need to aerate your wort. So short answer, don’t bother with a starter if you’re using dry yeast.

The old school of thought is being debated.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/starte ... st-459473/

[quote=“flars”]The old school of thought is being debated.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/starte ... st-459473/[/quote]

Well forum debates are all well and good but I think the earlier link from Danstar makes a pretty compelling case that a starter is NOT needed for an average strength 5 gallon batch. Of course it’s possible to make a starter with dry yeast and of course it’s possible to make an excellent beer that way, you’re just not gaining anything from the process, and if not done properly(ie large enough starter, proper aeration etc) it can be detrimental.

Should I re-hydrate or just pitch it in dry

Either way is fine. I have done both without seeing any real difference. Some brewers swear by the rehydration process. I just pitch it dry. Works fine.

Go to the manufacturer’s web site and read the instructions. Just be sure you don’t ever admit you’ve read and followed directions - you could lose your mancard.

Go to the manufacturer’s web site and read the instructions. Just be sure you don’t ever admit you’ve read and followed directions - you could lose your mancard.[/quote]

Directions, what directions

Response from Fermentis on making a starter with dry Yeast:

Once you have rehydrated the dry yeast (see rehydration tab in the “tips and tricks” section on www.brewwithfermentis.com), the yeast is in the same condition as any other yeast in liquid. If you do not rehydrate before you start agitating, you can end up decreasing viability due to the cell membranes of the yeast cells being in a fragile state. If you rehydrate the yeast appropriately, you can propagate the same as you would any other yeast.

I would hope all Fruit Jars are Food Grade.

If you pitch dry yeast without rehydrating, you lose about 50% of the yeast. Not a big deal, you can just pitch more. Based upon personal experience pitching LOTS of dry yeast, if you oxygenate and/or rehydrate, fermentation will kick off and finish faster, but doing so doesn’t make any difference in the finished beer. If you’re harvesting and reusing, treat dry yeast just like any other yeast for subsequent generations.

Thanks for the info. I am going to rehydrate from here on when it comes to dry yeast. I do a dry yeast about every third brew or so to save on money and for beers that are a crowd pleaser that I am going to share large amount of. It makes sense to me

I would think a mason jar might be on the small side. The first starter I made was in a cleaned, sanitized plastic milk jug.

Swirled it whenever I walked through the kitchen.

Now I have a DIY striplate and I picked up an old glass milk bottle at Goodwill for 99 cents.

Works fairly well for my needs.

I made the plunge and got a flask from Amazon. It is a 1L and it was $14 with free shipping. The wife unit is not happy about my continuous spending on beer gear, :wink:

1L is a little on the small side for making starters. You can get a one gallon glass jug from NB for $5, or you can probably buy one at the supermarket for the same price that will come full of apple juice.