Hey all,
I started a white labs yeast tube in a pint of water and 1/2 cup of DME, put it on my stir plate Saturday and it’s doing well with expectations that I brew last night or tonight and that’s not going to happen.
What’s the best way to set this aside until Friday?
It’s in the flask and on the plate with relatively tight foil over the opening. Now what? Let is spin away for four more days or put a rubber band over the foil and plunk it in the fridge?
Starters on a stir are usually fermented out in less than 36 hours, unless the wort temperature is very low. Let the starter finish, then cold crash until brew day. The rubber band to secure the foil in the refrigerator will help protect the yeast from contamination.
The 60+ hours it was on the plate shouldn’t be an issue? This is probably why I want to go with stopper and airlock instead of just foil though, right?
What’s the best plan from reviving it from the cold crash?
The morning of your brew day decant most of the wort. Leave enough wort in the flask to swirl the yeast into a solution that will pour easily. Let the flask sit out to warm a bit. It is best to pitch the yeast when it is cool, and then warm to fermentation temperature. Same with the wort you will be pitching into. It is best to have the wort a few degrees below the starting fermentation temperature.
The foil and rubber band is the very best way to go. Cold crashing with an air lock will probably result in the contents of the air lock being sucked into the flask.
The excess time on the stir plate probably did not do any damage.
I’m just curious about the size of your starter? How did you arrive at the combination of a PINT of water and 1/2 cup of DME?
Oh wow… didn’t even realize how stupid that looked until reading here. Answer… random google search
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html
"3. On Wednesday (or Tuesday for slants) you will make up a starter wort. Boil a pint (1/2 quart) of water and stir in 1/2 cup of DME. This will produce a starter of about 1.040 OG. Boil this for 10 minutes, adding a little bit of hops if you want to. Put the lid on the pan for the last couple minutes, turn off the stove and let it sit while you prepare for the next step. Adding a quarter teaspoon of yeast nutrient (vitamins, biotin, and dead yeast cells) to the starter wort is always advisable to ensure good growth. It is available from your brewshop. "
the only thing that looked stupid was this tiny amount in my 2L flask.
Guess I’ve never read that part of how to brew. I follow the general guide line of 100g DME to 1L water for my starters which yields a wort approximately 1.035. I don’t have a stir plate so I swirl often.
I bet it did look weird in your flask!
I use this calculator. It lets you dial in the exact volume and tells you exactly how much DME to use to create a 1.035 solution.
[quote=“mattnaik”]I use this calculator. It lets you dial in the exact volume and tells you exactly how much DME to use to create a 1.035 solution.
[/quote]
Matt, do you find brewersfriend to be very, conservative, I guess for lack of a better word?
For example it recommends a 2L starter for a 1.050 beer when the yeast date is TODAY. That seems a bit overboard to me.
Do you always make a 2L starter?
Obviously many of us have pitched a fairly new liquid yeast straight into a 1.050 wort with success.
On a beer 1.060 or less I’d generally make a 1L starter and feel quite confident. Maybe a 2L would start faster?
[quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“mattnaik”]I use this calculator. It lets you dial in the exact volume and tells you exactly how much DME to use to create a 1.035 solution.
[/quote]
Matt, do you find brewersfriend to be very, conservative, I guess for lack of a better word?
For example it recommends a 2L starter for a 1.050 beer when the yeast date is TODAY. That seems a bit overboard to me.
Do you always make a 2L starter?
Obviously many of us have pitched a fairly new liquid yeast straight into a 1.050 wort with success.
On a beer 1.060 or less I’d generally make a 1L starter and feel quite confident. Maybe a 2L would start faster?[/quote]
Not sure you are using it right. You can change the amount in the “Starter Size” and if your cell count is still “in the green” then its a sufficient sized starter. According to that calculator 193b cells are required for a 1.050 wort. So if you use 100b cells to start plug in 1L as the size and choose “shaking” as your aeration method that yields 201b cells which would be sufficient.
The 2L that is put in there as a default is always there. It’s up to you to change that number to see the smallest volume starter that will still meet the desired pitch count.
[quote=“mattnaik”][quote=“dannyboy58”][quote=“mattnaik”]I use this calculator. It lets you dial in the exact volume and tells you exactly how much DME to use to create a 1.035 solution.
[/quote]
Matt, do you find brewersfriend to be very, conservative, I guess for lack of a better word?
For example it recommends a 2L starter for a 1.050 beer when the yeast date is TODAY. That seems a bit overboard to me.
Do you always make a 2L starter?
Obviously many of us have pitched a fairly new liquid yeast straight into a 1.050 wort with success.
On a beer 1.060 or less I’d generally make a 1L starter and feel quite confident. Maybe a 2L would start faster?[/quote]
Not sure you are using it right. You can change the amount in the “Starter Size” and if your cell count is still “in the green” then its a sufficient sized starter. According to that calculator 193b cells are required for a 1.050 wort. So if you use 100b cells to start plug in 1L as the size and choose “shaking” as your aeration method that yields 201b cells which would be sufficient.
The 2L that is put in there as a default is always there. It’s up to you to change that number to see the smallest volume starter that will still meet the desired pitch count.[/quote]
Hmmmm…yea was doing those things but I must’ve changed some other cell by accident last time I used it. Maybe I used a 2013 date by accident. :shock:
The “pitch rate” can also be changed. This will make a big difference in how the calculator works in relation to your beer volume and estimated OG.
Yea I’ve played with that. Do you use the default pro brewer .75 for ales below 1.050?
Yea I’ve played with that. Do you use the default pro brewer .75 for ales below 1.050?[/quote]
If you scroll down it says to use it for 1.060 and below and anything above 1.060 use Pro Brewer 1.0
