Getting ready for a homebrewing day begins a day or so prior to the actual brew day. There is a lot of cleaning and sanitizing to do. There is also one task that you may want to do to help ensure a good fermentation later on, and that's making a yeast starter. It's simple, quick and will speed up the fermentation process. It can also help reduce the risk of other bacteria getting a foothold first in your wort.
I found a nice simple recipe for a yeast starter while watching James Spencer's Basic Brewing: Introduction to Extract Home Brewing video. All you need is a quart of water in a small pot, about a 1/2 cup of dry malt extract, a couple of hop pellets and a vial of the yeast you'll be using for your homebrew recipe. Just a quick 15 minute boil then a rapid cool-off and your ready to pitch the yeast into your starter.
I made a short video of preparing the yeast starter. It shows the equipment you'll need and discusses some tips on how to get a starter going. While there are other methods out there, this one is simple enough for any homebrew to try.
It's best to create a yeast starter a day before you homebrew, that way the yeast will be ready in abundance, and your fermentation of your homebrew beer will kick off much sooner than if you had just pitched in a small vial or smack pack.
Take a look at the video and let me know if you've got a different method to create a yeast starter that's worked well for you.
Creating a yeast starter (video):
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Continue reading: Pitching the yeast into your homebrew
Related articles:
- Testing the Blichmann Boilermaker.
- Choosing a brew kettle.
- Getting back into homebrewing.
- Brewing an extract homebrew.
- Choosing a fermenter for your homebrew.
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Sunday, January 11, 2009
Creating a yeast starter for homebrewing
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5 comments:
Jamil Zainasheff made a neat little tool to help you determine how big of a starter you need. It's at http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Thanks for the link reference. That will come in handy for my future brews. I've been wondering just how much yeast is needed based on the style of beer or O.G. I believe a bit more yeast than you think you'll need is better than relying on just what comes out of the smack pack or vial.
Great video, Dave! Using a starter has made a huge difference in my beer. I've found that 24 hours is sufficient for my starters but I've never tried longer. There doesn't seem to be much fermentation after 24 hrs.
2 questions:
Why do you put hops pellets in your starter?
Where do you stand on the pitching the entire starter vs just pitching the yeast cake debate?
Chris - I add a couple of hop pellets into my starter as it was suggested to me from the videos and books I've read. It apparently makes the flavor of the starter better and have less potential for off-flavors. As for how much of the starter to pitch, I let it settle out a bit and pour off a bit of the top liquid and then swirl it up and pitch in the rest. I'm still fairly new to starters so I'll have to experiment with them for a while.
While it isn't necessary to wait 3 days after you make a yeast starter you can easily do this the day before brew day. However, if your plans channge suddenly, the starter will easily last a couple more days. I did this on a Wednesday and brewed on a Saturday and got a very quick fermentation going soon after. I encourage you to experiment a bit with yeast starters and see what works out best for your homebrew.
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