Making a Yeast Starter

Here are the steps for making a yeast starter (for beer) as per the Northern Brewer Yeast Starter Kit

http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/2000-ml-yeast-starter-kit.html

http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/1000-ml-yeast-starter-kit.html

http://www.northernbrewer.com/

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Northern
• Brewer
• TV
• Homebrew
• Beer
• Yeast
• Starter

[zhengzhushi]

What about sanitation? Shouldn't all this equipment be soaked in sanitizer or boiled beforehand? The aluminum foil was definitely not sanitized.

[NorthernBrewerTV]

@zhengzhushi All equipment was sanitized by either heat or contact with sanitizer - the flask and the aluminum foil were in contact with the boiling-hot wort and its steam; and the steel pitcher next to the flask of cooled wort at the end (in which the yeast pack and stopper were soaking) was full of Star San.

[kgbuckeye]

It looks like you used 1000 ml of water. How much DME do you suggest using? And I assume that this is for 5 gallons of wort?

[NorthernBrewerTV]

@kgbuckeye If memory serves it was about 4 oz DME; please see the Documentation page of our website for more details on preparing starters. Cheers!

[mdelrossi1]

do you follow the same procedure when using dry yeast?

[ZiggyTrek]

Skip a step. Set the flask on the burner. It can handle it! Boil away!

[texabamabrackish]

@ bradhneal - you can do either/or. I personally use a stir plate, which creates a very well-mixed starter and pitch the whole thing. I'm talking about a smaller yeast starter going into 5 gallons of wort. If you are making a super starter (more liquid) you might want to let it chill in a fridge for an hour or so... to get the yeast to settle to the bottom... then like you said decant the top liquid... give the yeast a good shake to get remixed and pitch that purer yeast goodness.

[nortbrewer]

@itoriapt - You can actually shake or swirl starters as they ferment, whenever you think of it, to continuously supply oxygen (or use a stir plate).

[bradhneal]

Do you dump the entire mix into the fermentor or do you drain off the beer and only use the cake? There area lot of videos out there on how to make this stuff, but they all seem to stop short of actually adding the starter to the fermentor.