Silly questions requiring making starters

[sbond10]

I'm thinking about using a liquid yeast in a special christmas beer I'm planning.
I'm thinking about either using a smack pack and just going straight out the packet.
Or
Using a vial thingy and doing the following, I'm making a 1.050 ipa in the next week or so. I'm considering taking a litre of this before its under gone the boil and then freezing it. Then in June before the brew day thawing this out boiling it for 15 minutes then do yeast whispers method of shaking not stirring will this work.
The other idea I had was as I no chill cube so have upto 12 hours before pitching. Was to again take a litre of wort straight from mash tun from the actual christmas beer and follow yw's method again

Which ones best

Also where are you getting your pure alcohol from for wiping bottle necks etc(I'm going to using an old Ashbeck bottle which has had starsan solution in )

[Pegasus]

Using a vial thingy and doing the following, I'm making a 1.050 ipa in the next week or so. I'm considering taking a litre of this before its under gone the boil and then freezing it. Then in June before the brew day thawing this out boiling it for 15 minutes then do yeast whispers method of shaking not stirring will this work.

That's the 1 I use, although I'd probably step up to 1.050.

For the disinfectant, I use 70% IMS (clear) - fairly cheap. A good spray works well for me (and the micro labs I've worked in). Don't worry about the methanol content - very unlikely you'll get to ingest any of it.

[rpt]

I no chill and for White Labs yeast I take 1L of wort from the boil into a flask, cool it and pitch the packet (they don't use vials any more). By the time the cube of wort is cool the starter is active and I pitch the whole thing into the FV. If the yeast is old I would make a proper starter. For wiping you don't want pure alcohol but 70%. I use isopropyl alcohol which is readily available from your favourite auction site. There is no difference between Wyeast smack packs and White Labs Pure Pitch in terms of cell count or viability so I would do the same with either.

[sbond10]

How far into the boil would you take it 15 mins or the full 90?

I can get alcohol swabs for use before injections will this work ?

Just trying to figure what I could empty near 100 c of wort into then be able to put it into an ice bath to chill before pitching the yeast.

[rpt]

How far into the boil would you take it 15 mins or the full 90?

Whenever is convenient. If you are no-chilling then the end is good.

I can get alcohol swabs for use before injections will this work ?

If they are 70% IPA then yes.

Just trying to figure what I could empty near 100 c of wort into then be able to put it into an ice bath to chill before pitching the yeast.

1L = 1000cc. A 2L conical flask is ideal - they can withstand the heat followed by cold. You can easily cover the top with foil. If you make a starter with DME you can stick it on the hob to boil.

[sbond10]

Cheers this starter making stuff isn't cheap

[Kev888]

It can take a certain amount of money, skill, knowledge and care to handle yeast properly, especially if working from small samples or wanting to preserve long term for example. But IMO making starters needn't be as inaccessible as it may sound - if you are just growing up a reasonably robust quantity of yeast for a one-off pitch into a larger brew then it can almost be as simple as making a mini-batch of beer, but with particular attention to disinfecting things. Historically I/we would just use very well cleaned glass demijohns or even milk bottles baked gently in the oven, though I'm not saying thats as good as a heat-proof conical flask.

If this is to be a special batch, could be worth having a go or two beforehand to learn the ropes, though. Testing the results of the starter (whilst observing decent sanitation) can help give reassurance, to make sure it attenuated as expected and doesn't taste nasty before pitching it. And also don't forget to aerate the wort well before pitching; liquid yeast don't have the advantages of dried yeast in that respect.

[sbond10]

A friends got a few spare milk bottles so gonna clean them up and start simple by rehydrating a sachet of us05 with 10 x it's weight in water then considering adding sum wort so I can simpley get the yeast back out the bottle how does that sound

[Kev888]

If you bake the bottles to sterilize take care to raise the oven temperature very gently, and similarly when letting them cool down, so as not to shock them into shattering. I used to cap loosely with kitchen foil before baking, to prevent stuff floating in after they cool.

I suppose your plan would help test your hygiene and some aspects of the general process. It would be better (IMO) to practice with liquid yeast or maybe a small quantity of re-harvested yeast if you can though, as dried yeast are fairly robust and won't show up deficiencies in oxygenation. Without a stir plate or oxygen feed you can swirl the bottle once the cooled wort is in and from time to time from then on to help get air into it and keep the yeast suspended. You won't get huge growth in cell numbers but 5x per step should be quite possible.

Either way though, a pack would be far too much; it already has a shed load of viable cells so theres no scope to grow up (unless its for a really huge starter); the yeast won't act normally. I'd suggest starting with a fraction of what you need (say a fifth or less) and growing that up.

Make sure any water or wort you use has been boiled but unlike with a flask you'll need to allow it to cool enough to not endanger the bottles - protect it from flies and unclean funnels and so on as its more vulnerable when not hot enough to self-sanitize. (And obviously, it needs to be cool enough for the yeast before pitching them).

[sbond10]

I'll just pitch the us05 then by the sprinkle on top method and wait until I get liquid yeast to play with