2 Quick Starter/Pitch Questions

[Stevorino]

I'd really like to brew this afternoon. If I do, I wouldn't be able to begin my starter/brewing until 2pm (Belgian Wit).

1) If I only have my starter going for 6-8 hours before pitching, is that enough time?

2) Or would it be better just let the wort sit in my temp. controlled fridge over night w/o yeast and oxygenate/pitch in the morning? That would give the yeast roughly 18 hours in the starter.


Which of these options will give me the best beer possible? Or if both are bad, should I just brew another day?

[ApresSkiBrewer]

In my opinion getting the yeast into the starter for any amount of time over 4-5 hours is worth while. If you are really clean, though, either of those ideas are good IMO.

But I'm assuming that your belgain wit og is less than 1.050, so I would vote for just pitching it after being in the starter for 6-8 hrs, esp. if the yeast is relatively fresh and near its manufacture day.

Or play it by ear... if you see starter activity at 6-8 hrs (not uncommon in my experience) then definitely just pitch it. If its got nada... than wait until the morning.

[BigNastyBrew]

You may even benefit from underpitching the Wit if you like the esters in the beer.

[Nyakavt]

Option #1 will wake up the yeast, so it's still benefical, but won't really grow new cells. Try to do this step at the same temperature as the wort at pitching to avoid any temperature shock, since you will be pitching the whole starter.

Option #2 will grow more cells, so do this if you want a more appropriate pitch rate. It can take 24-36 hours depending on the freshness of the yeast package, but you will still grow some new cells at 18 hours. You want to take care in how you pitch the yeast: if you chill the wort in the fridge and throw the relatively warm starter in, you could have some temperature shock and a slower start. I would either warm the wort up within 5° of fermentation temp before pitching, or chill the starter in the fridge until you reach the wort temp.

You could also try drauflassen, where you pitch the yeast into 1/3 of the wort, while holding the other 2/3 in the fridge. Then up to 24 hours later add the rest of the wort. This does reduce ester production however, so maybe not so good for a wit.