How short of a period is too short or not worth making a starter?
Is 6-8 hr before pitching even worth making a starter on a stir plate? I have 1 vial of WP001, but need 202 yeast cells.
Thoughts?
Strain, batch size, OG? To a lessor extent recipe?
Wp001
5gal
1.058-1.060
In my opinion, you are 4 days too late. Minimum.
I’ve had really good success with jamils 18 hr, pitch at high krausen method. Time may be an issue this time.
[quote=“raspsu1”]
I’ve had really good success with jamils 18 hr, pitch at high krausen method. Time may be an issue this time.[/quote]
In that case, your wort will be fine for a few hours while you wait for HK.
I’d say at least the night before, if you won’t pitch until late the next day. 4 days seems long, depending on how much wort you’re going to give the yeast to work in. Alternatively use two smack packs , expensive but gets the job done. Some belgian recipes call for adding the second pack the day after the initial pitch, or later. That won’t help if your fermentation never starts.
I’ve had really good success with jamils 18 hr, pitch at high krausen method. Time may be an issue this time.[/quote]
I agree. I always make my starter the night before and pitch the whole thing with good success. If you’re brewing a lager (hence a huge starter, cold crash and decant), then I can see needing a few days.
Just to weight in on the original question: To ensure proper growth from the starter, I would go ahead and prepare the starter and brew, and then pitch the following morning. I’ve had to do this during the summer when ground water temps were too warm to chill the wort to pitching temps. Obviously sanitation is critical.
