Homebrewing Yeast Starters
07/19/2022
By Chris Butt
Many homebrewers have experienced brewing an exciting recipe, adding the yeast, and then waiting more than 2 days for signs of fermentation. These circumstances, and the associated anxiety, are most likely due to “underpitching.” That is, not enough active yeast cells were present to drive vigorous fermentation within the first 24 hours.
Underpitching should be avoided because it provides an opportunity for unknown microbes (“wild yeast”) to get established and ruin the taste of your beer. Initiating a small yeast culture the night before brew day is the best way to avoid underpitching, otherwise known as creating a “starter” or “jump” culture.
The combination of several approaches can allow you to optimize the number of yeast. For example, the types of grain, the original gravity of the wort, the efficiencies of the yeast and brewhouse, the original gravity of the starter, and oxygenation all influence how many yeast result from the starter. These more technical aspects may be explored in future articles, but the following is a basic starter culture setup for a typical 5-gallon batch:
Items needed for making a Yeast Starter
Materials
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Yeast
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2-liter Erlenmeyer flask made of Pyrex glass
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Funnel
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Aluminum foil
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StarSan sanitizing agent in a spray bottle
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2 liters of water
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1 cup of dried, pale malt extract
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1-gallon, pourable pot
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Stove, but a laboratory hot plate with a stirring function is preferable
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Oven mitt or similar form of heat protection
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Kitchen sink
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At least 5, medium-sized ice packs
Steps to making a Yeast Starter
Method (night before brew day; presuming no stir plate)
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Set out yeast to warm slowly to room temperature
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Cut 2 pieces of foil. One for the funnel, one for the flask.
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Sanitize the flask, funnel, and foil pieces
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Assemble the funnel on the flask and cover the funnel with the foil
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Heat 2 liters of water to a boil
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Once water is warm, add the extract, and stir as needed
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Look out for over boils, but once a stable boil is achieved, continue for at least 7 minutes
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Sanitize foil for flask and outer packaging of yeast while waiting
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After 7 minutes, pour hot wort into the flask and cover the flask with foil
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Plug sink
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Place flask in sink, add ice packs, and fill sink to wort level
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Swirl flask periodically until temperature is close to ambient
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Swirl flask vigorously to oxygenate directly before pitching yeast
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Pitch yeast and re-cover the flask with foil
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Maintain flask at ambient temperature and swirl occasionally
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Signs of fermentation are typically seen by morning and certainly by the end of brew day
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Swirl occasionally during brew day
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Sanitize and swirl vigorously directly before starting primary fermentation
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Pitch starter culture into the real batch of beer
These basics can be improved with different equipment, calculations, and consistency. For example, do not be surprised if blow-off of the primary fermentation occurs by the next morning. Be prepared by having secondary containment available. Overall, remember the immortal words of Charlie Papazian: “Relax, don’t worry, have a homebrew!“
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