Beer Forum

Howdy

Brand new brewer looking to make a starter. In Classic Styles JZ says to make a starter to equal 2.5 packs for the AIPA. I know how to make a starter and have made a few. But I don't know the math or technique to get to 2.5 packs worth. My local shop gave me written instructions on making a 2L starter by stepping it up three times. Is this correct? Or do I just do one step to reach 2.5 packs... and if so what are the quanities of DME and water used?

Tha

dj_carlson wrote:Howdy

Brand new brewer looking to make a starter. In Classic Styles JZ says to make a starter to equal 2.5 packs for the AIPA. I know how to make a starter and have made a few. But I don't know the math or technique to get to 2.5 packs worth. My local shop gave me written instructions on making a 2L starter by stepping it up three times. Is this correct? Or do I just do one step to reach 2.5 packs... and if so what are the quanities of DME and water used?

Tha

use Jamils calculator at www.mrmalty.com
that will be much easier than trying to figure everything out

What size batch are you making, what will the expected OG be, and what yeast are you using?

I'm brewing the American IPA directly out of the Brewing Classic Styles book. The batch size will be 5.25 gallons post boil with an OG of 1.065. Jamil says to use 2.5 packages of yeast (I'll be using Wyeast 1056) or make appropriate starter. Problem is that I don't know how 2.5 packages translates into size of starter. I've tried using the calculator and I assume my newness and possibly lack of understanding how to use the program is limiting my ability to use it.

To clarify I'm sure I can figure out how big of a starter to make but I'm confused as to how to get there. Do I make a starter of the appropriate size, I assume around 2L? or do i make several steps as my local shop has suggested?


Many thanks for helpin this newbie out!

Make a 2 liter starter and use 3/4 or 1 cup of DME.

+1 on using the www.mrmalty.com calculator. It's JZ's so it will be much more accurate than what he estimates in the book.

I use 200 grams of DME plus 1/8 tsp yeast nutrient with 1.75 L of water - this comes to almost 2 L of wort. Put the DME and nutrient in a pot and boil the water in a flask, pour some of the water in the pot and stir with a whisk. Take the flask off the heat and pour the mixture back into the flask with a funnel. Then bring it back to a boil and boil for 15 min. This prevents the extract from scorching on the bottom of your flask and also prevents boil overs that can occur as you are adding the DME. Another tip is to use foil over the top of the flask rather than an airlock. Brew Strong!

Cool thanks for the help! Sounds like I make the 2L starter in just one step and not several step ups as my local shop was instructing.


Mahalo