Starters

[NumbSkull]

OK, I got my DME in and now I am ready to make a starter. I am a little confused as to whether I should pitch the whole thing as it is hot or wait until it is done, crash cool it and dump the beer off the yeast. Any suggestions? And what is a stir plate? Do I need one to make a starter?

Mort

[DannyW]

Either works.

My favorite simple method is to put 1g DME for every 10ml of water in a flask. Put a piece of tinfoil over the top, crimped down lightly so it is like an inverted cup shape. Boil on the stove for 10 min. Then turn off the heat and go to bed.

In the morning, it will be nice and cool. Hold your hand on top of the foil and shake it for a while until it is all foamy. Then put in your yeast. Whenever you walk by the thing for the next couple of days, give it a shake/swirl.

Whether I decant or not depends on when I brew. If it is within a couple of days of making the starter, then I pitch the whole thing. If it is a week then I will chill and decant.

A stir plate is like a small table or box with a motor inside with the shaft vertical. A magnet is on top of the shaft. Put a small plastic coated magnet bar in your flask, then put the flask on top of the box. Then you don't have to do the shake thing and you get more yeast. they are nice, but you can make a perfectly good starter without one.

[Lufah]

Take a look here for how to make a stir plate...

http://brewiki.org/StirPlate

[NumbSkull]

Thanks for the link Lufah. I am not to smart about the transistors and resisitors. You guys are a pretty crafty bunch. Maybe this will give me the motivation to get smarter about these things.

I was reading on the Mr. Malty sight and it sounds to me like he makes starters the night before and dumps the entire thing in while it is still fermenting. So there really is no right or wrong way as long as you are sanitary? Sounds a lot like sex!

Mort

[DannyW]

If your sex is sanitary, then you aren't doing it right!

Sounds like the "body condom" Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley used in Naked Gun.

[Brancid]

So there really is no right or wrong way as long as you are sanitary?

Mort

I think you've just hit on the key to all that is homebrew.

From what I've picked up, having a starter, no matter how you get there will undoughtedly make better beer. Even if it's just in your head. For my self, better beer or not, it's just a little more brewing stuff to play with...IT'S JUST FUN!!!!!!

[NumbSkull]

OK I have my starter boiling on the stove right now. Somebody should have warned me about what happens when you dump DME into boiling water. Good Lord I almost wet myself. After this boils I am cooling it in an ice bath then splitting it into two mason jars and throwing the yeast in there. By Sunday they should be all done and ready to make more beer!

Mort

[Speyedr]

Oh yeah, Mort, boil it gently

That happened to me several times, and my Wife gets PISSED!

How much starter did you make and how big are the mason jars? I ask 'cause you need about a liter per starter at least to make a difference. If you only do a quart in each jar the yeast wont really multiply, they'll just kinda wake up.

When I do a starter for 10 gallons I just do it all in one flask and then when I pitch I just swirl it up and pour abut half into each fermenter. This way the starters are bigger and you'll grow more yeast.

Of course, if you're doing a liter per jar you should be OK.

Rob