Heres my take on the whole home brewing thing, If u like this hobby and u like beer as much as i do just simply enjoy it in yor own way. Just like they said in the other post , we’re not going to the moon or launching a space shuttle. I been a wine maker for a few years and a homebrewer for less than a year and ive learned more in the last two years than one man deserves. If you have a drive for this homebrew thing you will be a good brewer. Ive made 7 batches of beer since i started brewing 1 extract and 6 all-grain. Most expert brewers say i went to quick but i find i went as fast as my drive to know how would let me. Just remember its just a hobby so enjoy it.
Just a few pointers if i may,
1- number one killer for bad beer ( poor SANITATION)
2- number two killer for not so good beer ( PATIENCES)
3- untill u completely understand the whole starter thing the same trouble i have , dry yeast makes some damn good beer.
4 And last but not least ,…ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY
Thanks, everyone, and I didn’t actually mean to hijack this thread and sound so apoplectic. My first beer is happily bubbling away in a closet now (no starter yet), so I’m on my way. I’ll probably try a starter of some sort for my next batch, but with the understanding that yeast is yeast, beer will be made, relax. That being said, I’m sure I’ll harass the experts a few more times along the way as I run into questions.
FWIW, the WYEAST video doesn’t say it’s bad to let a starter works its magic for 5 days, it says it’s bad to leave it on a stir plate for 5 dates…I can see how the latter might be counterproductive.
Great posts. My question is how to keep the starter sanitized, or if that is even a concern? Obviously, you are allowing O2 in the starter, so aren’t you also allowing bad stuff in potentially? My 1L and 2L starters are in the fridge right now with just a foam stopper on them. Given the amount of time and effort to sanitize everything else, why doesn’t the yeast starter need the same?
I also find that many of my yeast starters never really start fermenting (no krausen I mean). Now, I’ve made a 1/2 dozen starters recently that were fine this way, beer fermented properly and tasted good. Just scratching my head here a little bit over the starter process.
Chet
If your starter is too small (say 1 L or less) the fermentation is so minimal and happens so fast that it’s easy to miss it. BTW, according to a seminar by Neva Parker of Whitelabs at NHC last summer, here’s some interesting info.
Growth Rate for 1L Starter: Yield Factor 3
Growth Rate for 2L Starter: Yield Factor 9
I have never used a starter but plan to after reading much of this. I have been having trouble getting my ABV to were I am happy and after reading this it may because of the few yeast strands. I use liquid yeat always have. I was under the miconcieved notion that the yeast will reproduce and take care of itself. Great thread.
What if you do not have a stir plate, I was going to make a starter, put it in a growler with a airlock. let it sit like that, after it has stopped all activity put it in the fridge is this an acceptable practice?
Wow!!! Thank you all so very much for all the great advice. Some of it is all Greek, but for the most part I have a better understanding. I can’t believe all the responses! I just kegged a dead guy ale clone this morning. For the yeast I let the pack activate for a day, made the starter, and had it on the stir plate two days. After reading the responses, I think I’ll try four days on the stir plate for this cream ale, and see what happens.
Absolutely. I did it that way for years before I got a stir plate. Just give it a shake every time you think of it…human stir plate! And you can just cover the mouth of the growler with foil. I haven’t used an airlock on a starter in years.
Just to add one more question. I bought a Yeast Starter kit and all but noticed “yeast nutrient” wasn’t included. How important is yeast nutrient in a starter? Is it more of a luxury instead of a necessary item for starters? Or is yeast nutrient more geared toward high ABV brews or maybe when someone is using previous yeast cake to re-pitch they might use nutrient? Thanks.
I’ve only used nutrients with mead. The wort provides the nutrients that honey lacks. I could be wrong, though, haven’t brewed a mead in several years.
