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Date: 28 Aug 2006 21:11:47
From: Franco
Subject: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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I am preparing a yeast starter. Yesterday I made 1 pint of wort, cooled
it to room temperature, put it in a jar with an airlock, and mixed the
yeast in. This evening the airlock was bubbling. I prepared another
pint or wort, and dumped it in the jar. I read that it is better to
separate the liquid from the "slurry" and only add the slurry to the
batch, and that for a lager you want to end up with like a 1/2 cup of
slurry. Now, I'm looking at my jar and the amount of slurry at the
bottom is very small, so what gives? How do I end up with 1/2 cup of
slurry? Do I need to add a lot more wort? Isn't much of the yeast in
suspension? Thanks in advance for any comments.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 09:36:07
From: Franco
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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Thanks for the replies. OK, so I need to at least double the size of my
starter. Today I will add another pint of wort, and tomorrow another
one, so my starter will have 1/2 gallon of wort. Now a question: if you
place the starter in the refrigerator, won't the yeast get shocked with
such a big temperature change in a short period of time?
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 16:51:27
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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On 29 Aug 2006 09:36:07 -0700, <cuminato@yahoo.com > wrote:
> Thanks for the replies. OK, so I need to at least double the size of my
> starter. Today I will add another pint of wort, and tomorrow another
> one, so my starter will have 1/2 gallon of wort. Now a question: if you
> place the starter in the refrigerator, won't the yeast get shocked with
> such a big temperature change in a short period of time?
Yes, but it doesn't really do any permanent damage.
John.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 11:39:31
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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Franco wrote:
> Thanks for the replies. OK, so I need to at least double the size of my
> starter. Today I will add another pint of wort, and tomorrow another
> one, so my starter will have 1/2 gallon of wort. Now a question: if you
> place the starter in the refrigerator, won't the yeast get shocked with
> such a big temperature change in a short period of time?
>
Basically they'll go inactive and sink to the bottom of the vessel. Once
you place them in the warmer wort of your primary ferment, they should
"wake up" as it were. If you're concerned, lower the temp 8-10
degreesF/day instead of just crashing out.
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 14:15:46
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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On 28 Aug 2006 21:11:47 -0700, <cuminato@yahoo.com > wrote:
> I am preparing a yeast starter. Yesterday I made 1 pint of wort, cooled
> it to room temperature, put it in a jar with an airlock, and mixed the
> yeast in. This evening the airlock was bubbling. I prepared another
> pint or wort, and dumped it in the jar. I read that it is better to
> separate the liquid from the "slurry" and only add the slurry to the
> batch, and that for a lager you want to end up with like a 1/2 cup of
> slurry. Now, I'm looking at my jar and the amount of slurry at the
> bottom is very small, so what gives? How do I end up with 1/2 cup of
> slurry? Do I need to add a lot more wort? Isn't much of the yeast in
> suspension? Thanks in advance for any comments.
2 pints is a quart, which is basically what I use for an ale starter
(IE, 1 liter). Lager starters usually need to be at least twice that.
Double your current size would be 1/2 gallon, some people even recommend
that you make a full gallon starter for lagers.
Also, has your starter settled out yet or is it still working? If it's
working, then a lot of the yeast may still be suspended in the wort. Once
it finishes and settles you may see more slurry on the bottom.
John.
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 08:30:49
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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Franco wrote:
> I am preparing a yeast starter. Yesterday I made 1 pint of wort, cooled
> it to room temperature, put it in a jar with an airlock, and mixed the
> yeast in. This evening the airlock was bubbling. I prepared another
> pint or wort, and dumped it in the jar. I read that it is better to
> separate the liquid from the "slurry" and only add the slurry to the
> batch, and that for a lager you want to end up with like a 1/2 cup of
> slurry. Now, I'm looking at my jar and the amount of slurry at the
> bottom is very small, so what gives? How do I end up with 1/2 cup of
> slurry? Do I need to add a lot more wort? Isn't much of the yeast in
> suspension? Thanks in advance for any comments.
>
The term "slurry" is often a little misleading, as it implies some fixed
amount of yeast in suspension.
If you want to separate the yeast from the spent wort, you can either
wait -- in which case the yeast will eventually settle out of
suspension, or crash cool the starter. A lot of folks will reccoment
slowly cooling the starter (8-10 degrees/day) to below your lager pitch
temp -- but in general I just crash it out (of course, I use very big
starters). The cold will settle the vast bulk of the yeast to the bottom
of the flask. You can then pour off most of the starter wort, leaving
enough so that you can resuspend the yeast well enough to pour it into
your fermenter.
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 05:54:17
From: Wayne
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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Franco wrote:
> I am preparing a yeast starter. Yesterday I made 1 pint of wort, cooled
> it to room temperature, put it in a jar with an airlock, and mixed the
> yeast in. This evening the airlock was bubbling. I prepared another
> pint or wort, and dumped it in the jar. I read that it is better to
> separate the liquid from the "slurry" and only add the slurry to the
> batch, and that for a lager you want to end up with like a 1/2 cup of
> slurry. Now, I'm looking at my jar and the amount of slurry at the
> bottom is very small, so what gives? How do I end up with 1/2 cup of
> slurry? Do I need to add a lot more wort? Isn't much of the yeast in
> suspension? Thanks in advance for any comments.
>
Your process to this point is good. However, you do need a larger
starter. When you do a starter less than about 2 liters about all you
are doing is activating the yeast and allow it to build up the cell
walls, especially if you don't have a stir plate. To really get
reproductive growth, you really need 2-3 liters of starter wort. Without
a stir plate you may be able to get 1/2 cup of slurry. With a stir
plate, you can more than double that. For a lager you need much more
than 1/2 cup.
To decant the liquid after starter fermentation is complete, just stick
it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Most of the yeast will settle to
the bottom and you will be able to pour off the spent wort.
For a great discussion on yeast pitching rates you should check out
http://www.mrmalty.com/
Hope this helps.
Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company
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Date: 29 Aug 2006 04:54:03
From: Steve/Aus
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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"Franco" <cuminato@yahoo.com > wrote in message
news:1156824707.222824.241350@74g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...
>I am preparing a yeast starter. Yesterday I made 1 pint of wort, cooled
> it to room temperature, put it in a jar with an airlock, and mixed the
> yeast in. This evening the airlock was bubbling. I prepared another
> pint or wort, and dumped it in the jar. I read that it is better to
> separate the liquid from the "slurry" and only add the slurry to the
> batch, and that for a lager you want to end up with like a 1/2 cup of
> slurry. Now, I'm looking at my jar and the amount of slurry at the
> bottom is very small, so what gives? How do I end up with 1/2 cup of
> slurry? Do I need to add a lot more wort? Isn't much of the yeast in
> suspension? Thanks in advance for any comments.
>
You only add the slurry. The liquid can (probably will) add off flavors
because of what you used and how you used it (ie. fermented warm). IMO,
stepping up the way you done it should give you a good start to a vigorous
fermentation. You're right that there is a lot of yeast in suspension. When
fermentation is about finished you can refrigerate the starter. This will
cause most of the suspended yeast to drop out, increasing your amount of
slurry. Although more is better, if you increase the cell count by about x3
as much as the packet/vial you should get a good start.
Steve W (in Aus)
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 08:58:52
From: Denny Conn
Subject: Re: Question about separating slurry from yeast starter
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Franco wrote:
>
> I am preparing a yeast starter. Yesterday I made 1 pint of wort, cooled
> it to room temperature, put it in a jar with an airlock, and mixed the
> yeast in. This evening the airlock was bubbling. I prepared another
> pint or wort, and dumped it in the jar. I read that it is better to
> separate the liquid from the "slurry" and only add the slurry to the
> batch, and that for a lager you want to end up with like a 1/2 cup of
> slurry. Now, I'm looking at my jar and the amount of slurry at the
> bottom is very small, so what gives? How do I end up with 1/2 cup of
> slurry? Do I need to add a lot more wort? Isn't much of the yeast in
> suspension? Thanks in advance for any comments.
You're using too little wort to create much yeast. I don't know how
much you're starting with, but if it's a White tube or Wyeast Acitivator
pack, you could start at 2-3 qt. Even ifyou start with a smaller
amount, your step up should be 2-3 qt.
------- >Denny
--
Life begins at 60...1.060, that is.
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