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Main
Date: 25 Aug 2006 17:42:38
From: Don Levey
Subject: Starter, but no start
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I had been planning on brewing this weekend, and so was getting ready
to make a starter tonight. However, I've been informed that I may
need to take a last-minute trip at some point soon, potentially for
a funeral, so I may not be able to brew. If I make the starter anyway,
can I just leave it to completion, refrigerate it, and wake it up later
with some fresh wort? Or should I just wait until I know I will have
the time?
--
Don Levey $ cd /pub
Framingham, MA $ more beer
NOTE: email server uses spam filters; mail sent to salearn@the-leveys.us
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Date: 25 Aug 2006 14:47:30
From: GeoffT
Subject: Re: Starter, but no start
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Don Levey wrote:
> I had been planning on brewing this weekend, and so was getting ready
> to make a starter tonight. However, I've been informed that I may
> need to take a last-minute trip at some point soon, potentially for
> a funeral, so I may not be able to brew. If I make the starter anyway,
> can I just leave it to completion, refrigerate it, and wake it up later
> with some fresh wort? Or should I just wait until I know I will have
> the time?
> --
> Don Levey $ cd /pub
> Framingham, MA $ more beer
> NOTE: email server uses spam filters; mail sent to salearn@the-leveys.us
> will be used to tune the blocking lists.
You have two options with a starter: pitch at high krausen (24 - 48
hours), or wait until it has fermented out and pitch the slurry (4 +
days). Either way, the aim is to increase the amount of viable yeast.
I don't like leaving a starter for too long (infection paranoia) so I'd
tend to wait until you know you have the time. It certainly wouldn't
hurt to make it now though.
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Date: 25 Aug 2006 16:47:27
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Starter, but no start
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Don Levey wrote:
> I had been planning on brewing this weekend, and so was getting ready
> to make a starter tonight. However, I've been informed that I may
> need to take a last-minute trip at some point soon, potentially for
> a funeral, so I may not be able to brew. If I make the starter anyway,
> can I just leave it to completion, refrigerate it, and wake it up later
> with some fresh wort? Or should I just wait until I know I will have
> the time?
You can always cover it and refrigerate it.
--
(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: 28 Aug 2006 18:24:26
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Starter, but no start
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On 25 Aug 2006 17:42:38 -0400, <Don_RCB@the-leveys.us > wrote:
> I had been planning on brewing this weekend, and so was getting ready
> to make a starter tonight. However, I've been informed that I may
> need to take a last-minute trip at some point soon, potentially for
> a funeral, so I may not be able to brew. If I make the starter anyway,
> can I just leave it to completion, refrigerate it, and wake it up later
> with some fresh wort? Or should I just wait until I know I will have
> the time?
You can make a starter and then use it later. At room temp it'll keep
fine for several days. In the fridge it'll probably keep for a week or two.
Any longer than that and I'd want to feed it again. If you haven't
made the starter yet, I'd just wait and make it when you get back.
John.
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Date: 30 Aug 2006 16:20:16
From: Don Levey
Subject: Re: Starter, but no start
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John 'Shaggy' Kolesar <spam@shagg.net > writes:
> On 25 Aug 2006 17:42:38 -0400, <Don_RCB@the-leveys.us> wrote:
> > I had been planning on brewing this weekend, and so was getting ready
> > to make a starter tonight. However, I've been informed that I may
> > need to take a last-minute trip at some point soon, potentially for
> > a funeral, so I may not be able to brew. If I make the starter anyway,
> > can I just leave it to completion, refrigerate it, and wake it up later
> > with some fresh wort? Or should I just wait until I know I will have
> > the time?
>
> You can make a starter and then use it later. At room temp it'll keep
> fine for several days. In the fridge it'll probably keep for a week or two.
> Any longer than that and I'd want to feed it again. If you haven't
> made the starter yet, I'd just wait and make it when you get back.
>
Well, I decided to chance it and made the starter on Friday night.
The dreaded phone call hasn't come yet; I brewed on Sunday. I got
lovely frothy foam within 4 hours after pitching.
On the other hand, I may have messed up the beer. Damn bilingual
thermometer! Well, not bilingual, but dual-scale. I was heating water
for my mash, trying to get to 166F. I ended up heating to 66C - 150F.
The mash was a bit cool... I added more, hotter water, but couldn't
quite get up to my target (154F). By the end of the hour-long mash,
I had also lost quite a bit of heat. Efficiency ended up at about 60%.
Still technically within range for the style (Brown Porter); we'll see
how it goes.
This will probably be the last time I use that system (nested buckets,
a la Papazian) anyway; I should have the 10 Gallon Rubbermaid/Gott
cooler ready to go by the next session.
--
Don Levey $ cd /pub
Framingham, MA $ more beer
NOTE: email server uses spam filters; mail sent to salearn@the-leveys.us
will be used to tune the blocking lists.
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