Sorry to dig up this aging thread but I started my first starter tonight, and I’m curious: will the starter beer taste nasty due to oxygenation? I used some wort from sparge runoff and I’m curious how it will taste with this yeast (Wyeast 3787).
Also, when I agitate it, is the goal to get all sediment into suspension or should there always be yeast cake at the bottom?
[quote=“ickyfoot”]will the starter beer taste nasty due to oxygenation?[/quote]Unless you went to the trouble of making the starter like a regular batch of beer (with hops in particular), and use an airlock and only swirl to get the yeast back in suspension (so it’s under a layer of CO2 and thus not oxidized), starter “beer” isn’t worth drinking. Although tasting it is a good idea just to make sure that there is no obvious problem before you pitch the yeast. I have a 3-gal batch of starter going now - used a bunch of Comet hops for the first time and it smells great, planning on kegging and drinking the beer.
I dumped a small but random amount of columbus and cascade in the wort and boiled for 20 minutes. Probably didn’t dump enough in to over bitter in that time, but it might have a gratuitously strong hop flavor/aroma 
. I have tried to avoid splashing when swirling but haven’t been 100% successful. Interestingly, after the first swirl there was still sediment on the buttom; went back down a few minutes ago and it was gone.
I am using an airlock so hopefully that’s keeping O2 at bay. Will oxidation be obvious immediately after decanting, or will related off flavors develop over time? My plan was to go straight to bottles with 1 tablespoon sanitized sugar and see what comes out.
P.S. - I had no idea how much of belgian ale smell/flavor is derived from the yeast until I opened the smack pack earlier. Crazy!
[quote=“ickyfoot”]Will oxidation be obvious immediately after decanting, or will related off flavors develop over time? My plan was to go straight to bottles with 1 tablespoon sanitized sugar and see what comes out.[/quote]Swirling the fermenter vigorously when it’s full of CO2 (even splashing a little) has yet to cause me any problems with starter beer (I’m a lot more careful with “real” beer batches, though). If you have a problem, it ought to be obvious at decanting time, so I would bottle if it tastes and smells good.
Sweet, it smells great so far! Would love to get 5 or 6 extra beers out of the deal.
Wow, from the reading I’m doing here, I’m starting to realize I’ve been under-pitching. I’ve been making starters using 1/4 cup DME, and putting it in a 1000 ml flask at about 500-600 ml with the yeast in. Today, I made a starter for the NB Karl’s 90 Shilling tomorrow, and I used 1 cup of DME, and ended up just under the 1000 ml line with the Wyeast in it. I’m wondering if I should get a bigger flask…
I’m very new to this, but I have to say, I’m consistently surprised by the starter sizes recommended by Mr. Malty and others.
FWIW, though, Mr. Malty recommends starters about half as large if you agitate or use a stir plate.
I don’t have a stir plate (yet), but I do try to give it a swirly every time I walk past it. I’ve blown the foam stopper out of it a few times because I was a little too vigorous. Would it hurt to just leave it be?
I can’t say from experience (my first starter is chilling as we speak), but from what I understand, leaving it be requires more food and more time to produce the same amount of yeast you get if you regularly agitate. So, it wouldn’t hurt to just leave it be, but it will require larger starters and more time. Only real downsides I see are $$$ and, if you don’t decant, there’s more starter “beer” to potentially affect the real beer’s flavor.
As far as agitating/swirling, I think the goal is to simply keep the yeast in suspension, which doesn’t take too much effort. If you’re constantly knocking the stopper out, you can probably ease up a bit.
Yes. Or a gallon glass jug, assuming it will work with your stir plate.
You should also use about half that much DME. 1 cup (150-200 g) per liter works out to 1.057-1.076 SG.
The benefit of swirling is actually that it promotes gas exchange at the surface.
… I know you’re jesting, but its’ good to be clear: a krausen will form even with a stir plate, depending on the yeast.
Yes. Or a gallon glass jug, assuming it will work with your stir plate.
You should also use about half that much DME. 1 cup (150-200 g) per liter works out to 1.057-1.076 SG.[/quote]
I do have an old gallon wine jug. I do like the flask because of the temperature extremes it can handle. I’d have to do it a little different with a glass jug, but I’m willing. And thanks for the advice on the DME amount. I guess I’ll have to prepare for a blowoff.
