First time starter question

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by redgorillabreath, Sep 5, 2015.

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  1. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    I had a plan, but my brew buddy changed the schedule. I started a starter this morning with yeast I had harvester from the primary fermentation of a previous batch. Already loads of activity.

    Is there any chance I can use this in a batch the day after tomorrow? It would be 2 days old.

    Many thanks in advance and cheers!
     
    #1 redgorillabreath, Sep 5, 2015
  2. ssam

    ssam Pundit (997) Dec 2, 2008 California

    You can, it will definitely still be better than a straight pitch. You probably don't even need a starter if you harvested slurry unless you barely got any.
     
    #2 ssam, Sep 5, 2015
  3. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    I was thinking along those lines. The harvested yeast (Wyeast 1056 from a SMASH ale batch) sat in the fridge for about 3 weeks and totally compacted to about 1/2" thick on the bottom of a pint mason jar. Totally transparent liquid above. It smelled clean and very nice, for yeast (if you're into that sort of thing).

    I suspect it's more yeast than I'd be pitching from a smack pack or certainly from a White Labs tube.

    Reading "How to Brew" by Palmer, I didn't know how concerned to be that the yeast will almost certainly not be able to get to get to that point where it has built up all of its "reserves".
     
    #3 redgorillabreath, Sep 5, 2015
  4. PortLargo

    PortLargo Pooh-Bah (1,831) Oct 19, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah

    Viability of yeast decreases about 21% per month. So two days would be <2% which is pretty insignificant. Just let the starter finish naturally and store chilled ... reserves shouldn't be a problem.


    You didn't ask, but do you know how much yeast you need? (i.e. do you use a yeast calculator)
     
    #4 PortLargo, Sep 5, 2015
  5. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    No yeast calculator. Just a home made spreadsheet that I've been using to get intended volumes into the fermenter and on into bottles.

    I do have first hand experience doing plate counts with bacteria, so I have a handle on cell counts. But I can't claim to know what I'm doing about yeast populations.
     
    #5 redgorillabreath, Sep 5, 2015
  6. Brew_Betty

    Brew_Betty Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2015 Wisconsin

    The Mr Malty calculator has a tab for repitching from a slurry. I think this is for a fresh slurry. A slurry chilled for a few weeks would need more slurry and a small starter would be good. Yeast nutrient also helps.
     
    #6 Brew_Betty, Sep 5, 2015
  7. CBrodbeck

    CBrodbeck Initiate (0) Nov 1, 2014 Florida

    What is your target post-boil volume? You should be okay for a 5 gallon batch provided your not pitching into anything greater than 15-16 Plato. Above that, either from a volume or gravity perspective, you're going to need to build the yeast up with a longer/larger starter.
     
    #7 CBrodbeck, Sep 5, 2015
  8. PortLargo

    PortLargo Pooh-Bah (1,831) Oct 19, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah

    It's a long read, but these two articles about pitch-count and starters were helpful to me:
    http://www.mrmalty.com/article.php

    If you have access to a hemocytometer you could be King of the Yeast Geeks.
     
    #8 PortLargo, Sep 6, 2015
    inchrisin likes this.
  9. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

     
    #9 redgorillabreath, Sep 7, 2015
  10. redgorillabreath

    redgorillabreath Zealot (511) Mar 29, 2015 Pennsylvania

    Dear all: thanks very much for the comments and leads to articles and the yeast calculator!

    Cheers
     
    #10 redgorillabreath, Sep 9, 2015
  11. scottakelly

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

    I pitch harvested yeast all the time without making a starter. My rule of thumb is no more than 2 weeks. I've never had any issues. FYI I usually only brew moderate gravity ales.
     
    #11 scottakelly, Sep 9, 2015
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