So I now have a stir/heat plate and was wondering how soon is to soon to start a starter? I usually do it 48 hours prior to brewing but was wondering what you thought about starting it more like a week before.
I do this all the time. Just toss it in the fridge when it's done and use when ready. I actually like this method better b/c you let all the yeast settle to the bottom and you can decant the "beer" off of the top and not add it to your batch. Leave a little liquid, give it a few swirls, and toss it in.
From what I know, starting 24 hours before is best because then the yeast are most active when you pitch. If you wait a week, you certainly will have more cells than in the vial, but they will have already finished fermenting the starter. So, it would be better than pitching one vial of yeast, but worse than pitching 24-48 hours after starting.
I think a week is fine. The cells should be just fine if they are stored cold in the fridge under the beer in the starter. I would think more than a week and you may need to be concerned about losing viability.
18 to 36 is when the yeast are most active. Lots of people do them a week prior and put them in the fridge for at least a few days. They decan the beer off the top to prevent diluding the final volume of the beer.
Soo many typos, soo little time to fix them. Sorry guys. * decant **diluting This list will continue as the night drags on.
My usual timeline is to make the starter three days before brew day. I leave it on the stir plate for 36 hours, and then cold crash it for 36 hours so I can decant off some of the starter liquid.
I've had some good success making my starter about a week ahead of time, cold crashing after it is finished, then decanting off the wort the morning of brewday. Take some of the boiling wort and crash cool it, add it to the flask and place it on the stirplate until the wort is chilled and they yeast are nice and happy. I've had activity in about 3 hours on a saison I did this with.
