Short on time, add the whole starter?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by redgorillabreath, May 29, 2016.

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  1. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    I have 2.5 qts of starter, Wyeast 1272. Activity is just starting to subside, yeast is still in full suspension. I hope to add it to a batch (Pliny the Elder) at ~5:00 this afternoon, which is about 8 hours from now.

    Question:
    Will it be better to try to cold crash it (so I'd just add the yeast to the batch, if it even settles by then), or let it have 8 more hours of activity and add the whole thing?

    I've added an entire starter before with good results, where I boiled the wort down to compensate for the extra volume. But I'll never know what impact that had on the flavor unless I make that other recipe again and just add the yeast cake.

    I guess I just talked myself into cold crashing. But if anyone has any pro's or con's to contribute, I'd be very interested to hear

    Cheers!
     
    #1 redgorillabreath, May 29, 2016
  2. scottakelly

    scottakelly Maven (1,487) May 9, 2007 Ohio

    Can you even cold crash in 8 hours? I always cold crash 1 to 2 days before brew day.
     
    #2 scottakelly, May 29, 2016
    inchrisin likes this.
  3. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    I'll let you know!
     
    #3 redgorillabreath, May 29, 2016
  4. wspscott

    wspscott Pooh-Bah (1,958) May 25, 2006 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    You might as well try to crash it, but I doubt much will happen in ~8 hours.
     
    #4 wspscott, May 29, 2016
  5. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    Yeah. If it doesn't settle, then I'll dump the whole thing in.

    I suppose another alternative is to go ahead and make the wort and wait to add the yeast until it has settled adequately. If I don't have any sanitation accidents, that should work out.
     
    #5 redgorillabreath, May 29, 2016
  6. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Maven (1,385) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    I usually cold crash for at least 2 or 3 days before brew day. Otherwise, just decant some of the clear top part and dump the rest in. You also want the yeast slurry to come to the wort temperature. So if you were to cold crash it, you'd then have to wait for it to get warm again. At this point, don't bother cold crashing. Just decant whatever is clear from the top, swirl it around, and dump the rest in.
     
    #6 OldBrewer, May 29, 2016
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  7. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    Well, we pushed brew day back to tomorrow. I suppose the moral of the story is plan better.

    Thanks for politely replying!

    Cheers
     
    #7 redgorillabreath, May 30, 2016
    inchrisin likes this.
  8. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Maven (1,385) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    Well, I think that there are three morals:

    1) you can always make do with what you have today. You may not end up with 100% optimization, but you will still end up with a very drinkable end result;
    2) you can improve your odds for a more successful brew by a few tweaks, or by patience and waiting for another day or so; and
    3) you can always end up with a very drinkable solution, but learn from experience and improve with each new brew.

    Bottom line: in homebrewing, the difference between an acceptable result and a perfect result is not that great. Each produces a drinkable result, but perfection is always an ideal to strive for. That's the part that makes experience so enjoyable.
     
    #8 OldBrewer, May 30, 2016
  9. MostlyNorwegian

    MostlyNorwegian Pooh-Bah (2,236) Feb 5, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah

    Good idea to brew later because I suspect your idea of short term crashing would just confuse your yeast.
     
    #9 MostlyNorwegian, May 30, 2016
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