Why boil a starter ten minutes?

Waiting for my starter to finish boiling and thinking there is no reason to go ten minutes. After a minute or two anything bad should be gone so why wait?

I know many of us don’t boil starters for very long so I may be joining in.

I use mostly dry yeast, but when I do use liquid with a starter I only boil for a couple of minutes. The extract used to make the starter was boiled in the process of making it, which is why a no-boil kit works.

I boil the water the DME will be sanitized in for 5 minutes. The boil is to sanitize the kettle and lid.

Stay away from the computer while boiling the water. A dry pot warps very quickly. A couple of weeks later a second pot warped just as quickly.

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I only do ten minutes because wyeast nutrient says to add it ten minutes before end of the boil :slight_smile:

Yep, the only boil over I have had was messing around with small volumes in small pots for starters. Bought a 3 quart saucepan as a result and gives me a little more margin

For starters I bring the water to a boil, remove from heat, stir in DME, bring to a boil again then cool. I

Nice going @flars! Sounds like something I’d do but I haven’t! yet…

I know I read 20 minutes in a Wyeast article. I’ve only made a few and think I settled on 15 minutes from what I read in the Yeast book. Last batch I just picked up an extra smack pack. All depending on what pitching rate you’re shooting for of course. I like the idea of making my own starter but I feel like it’s just another variable I don’t want in my process. I could see if you needed to make a stepped starter or a large starter. What’s an extra few minutes of boil time if you’re going to take the time to make a starter.

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I’m lazy and use Fast Pitch. No boiling necessary.

Buzzkill.

Same thing here. Its just ten min enough for a coffee and a smoke

By the time I sat down and started this thread my starter had boiled ten minutes anyway. So next time I will have to try a shorter boil. Will have to try Fast Pitch some time though. Tried using Malta years ago but by the time you get finished getting the CO2 out of it, it isn’t worth the effort and the dark color could be a slight problem for very light colored beers.

I have to admit I am using more and more dry yeast. It’s really good now days compared to years ago. No I don’t rehydrate it and it always works. I also will admit to using the Wyeast smack packs for years by just letting them blow up and just dumping them in the wort. Now I find that I severely under pitched. Good thing all that beer still tasted so good :wink:

I don’t boil as long while making starters. I’m in the camp like Flars, I just want to be sure the lid and pot is sanitized. The ironic part tho, which maybe some of you do too, put it into the fridge to cool!!:weary: Sneezles61

For a small starter I use an Erlenmeyer flask. Boil in it, let it sit for a while to cool before an ice bath. Then add the yeast and cover the top with aluminum foil.

I used to dunk it in the ice water right from the stove but read that repeated use like that can cause it to crack even though it is tempered glass.

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