• Welcome to the new forum! We upgraded our forum software with a host of new boards, capabilities and features. It is also more secure.
    Jump in and join the conversation! You can learn more about the upgrade and new features here.

Starter Volume

grahambayley

Apprentice
Joined
Sep 18, 2018
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Hi all,

New to All Gain and Beersmith, a full one brew under my belt !

Question on Starter Volume for yeast.

If I work a recipe and my batch size is say 23 litres, what ive noticed is that if I add my Starter to the 'batch' then I get 23 + Starter Volume.  So if its 23 L @ Final Gravity + Starter (say 2 L) then wouldn't the FG of the resultant 25 L volume be diluted ?

Do i need to know off the Starter to the Batch Size to compensate ?

Thanks !

Graham
 
People handle this in different ways.

The short answer is this:  Yes, the starter volume dilutes the wort when added. 

Some people account for this by adjusting the target volume down to accommodate the starter.  Others have enough head room to allow for the addition of the starter to the fermenter.

My preferred approach is to make the starter ahead of time and crash cool it to drop most of the yeast out of solution at least 24 to 48 hours ahead of brewing.  On brew day before adding the starter, I decant as much of the starter wort from the yeast cake on the bottom and then add the remaining to the fermenter once it has reached my target addition temperature.  If you do this, then you want to uncheck the box for 'add starter to bottling volume'.

 
Hey thanks for the help !

Like your preferred approach, as a matter of interest, what temperature do you cold crash ??

I would have thought a software as cool as Beersmith would have nailed this one ;) 

Not that I'm having a go at beersmith, its certainly allowed me to brew a great M?rzen last weekend ;) 

Great Software and Support well worth the price - thanks guys !

Graham
 
My beer fridge is set pretty low, like 2C to 4C depending upon the time of year.  I do my starters at a pretty low temperature also, just a bit above 15C and let them go for a full 40 to 48 hours before chilling them in the refrigerator. 

I'm not sure what you mean by "BeerSmith would have nailed this one" comment.  There are so many differing methods of doing starters from traditional to a vitality starter that it is hard to include all options.  It does allow for the decanting of starter versus addition of starter, which is one of the biggest differences in methods used.

Another little trick I've picked up is using the sample that I remove from the finished wort for OG testing as a "wake up", quasi vitality starter, for the yeast.  After decanting the starter wort, I will pour the sample (usually about 300 ml to 350 ml) of chilled wort into the flask to loosen up the yeast cake to make it easier to pour.  It will sit for about 3 to 4 hours before being pitched into the fermenter, so it usually has a good start of krausen on the surface.  This tends to start the fermentation of the larger volume much faster, as the yeast has already its growth phase.

 
 
Back
Top