liquid yeast and spray malt

[ColinKeb]

right i am now making the transistion to whitelabs liquid yeast. i want to make up the starter tonight ready for thursday so ive got some spraymalt and a phial of yeast. my plan is to let it warm up out of teh fridge for a few hours, steralise an empty bottle then make up the spray malt with boiling water. bung the lot in the bottle , shake and wait.
a) is this good?
b) any tips?

cheers
colin

[Jim]

That'll work. To reuse the yeast you'll have to harvest from your brew, though.

Another method (which I prefer) is to let the yeast multiply in about 2/3 gal of wort (made from hopped spraymalt) then split it into small bottles. Each bottle can then be used to make a starter which is more economical. It's less risky infection-wise than harvesting yeast and has the advantage that you're never using more than 2nd generation yeast.

[ColinKeb]

i was only going to use half the starter this week then the other half next week when i brew another batch. i was just going to keep the saved half in the fridge till then. how do you harvest it off a brew? scrape it from the top or bottom?

[mysterio]

steralise an empty bottle then make up the spray malt with boiling water. bung the lot in the bottle

I'm sure you already know this, but remember to cool the wort down before you pitch the yeast

[ColinKeb]

cheers guys, its a shame i havent got a demijohn or something , i will try to get a few jars together and give the yeast plenty of wort to work with .

[tubby_shaw]

its a shame i havent got a demijohn or something

Go and buy five litres of mineral water for half a quid drink the water ( if your like me and think that drinking too much water can dilute your personality give it to the kids)and use the empty container
DaaB you type mighty fast

[ColinKeb]

not that im tight or anything, but ive got an empty whisky bottle and a pasta sauce jar ready and waiting

[ColinKeb]

yes i found that once, but i soaked it in wvp for ages and it smells no longer , those lids seem to be prone to absorbing odours easily , shame really as due to the wide kneck and size they are just right for starters. they also make fine pickled onion jars too.

[Mashman]

That'll work. To reuse the yeast you'll have to harvest from your brew, though.

Another method (which I prefer) is to let the yeast multiply in about 2/3 gal of wort (made from hopped spraymalt) then split it into small bottles. Each bottle can then be used to make a starter which is more economical. It's less risky infection-wise than harvesting yeast and has the advantage that you're never using more than 2nd generation yeast.

Jim - How much spraymalt would you need for this, in say 1.5lt water? Does it matter if it's dark or light spraymalt? ( I'm making stouts)Also, if brewday has to be postponed will this tick over for a few more days?

TIA

Just come back from shopping, 4 lt apple juice now sitting in the kitchen, slippery slope..............

[steve_flack]

To make a starter use a tenth of the volume of water in weight of spraymalt.

So for 1000ml use 100g of spraymalt - this makes a 1.040-ish starter.

[Matt]

To make a starter use a tenth of the volume of water in weight of spraymalt.

So for 1000ml use 100g of spraymalt - this makes a 1.040-ish starter.

Can I just check … is this then boiled for 20 mins to create a 1.040 wort?

Cheers,
Matt

[steve_flack]

You're only boiling to sterilise not to make a beer so I reckon 5 mins should be plenty.

[Matt]

Thanks Steve.

Matt

[Vossy1]

I've got a couple of questions about yeast and spray malt and I thought I'd tag them on here, hope that's o.k

I've just made up a 1ltr starter with Wyest 3068 as per instructions. This will be suitable as a starter for 5 gallons of beer.

If I double it, ie, make a 2ltr starter with one pack of yeast will this be suitable for 10 gallons of beer?

Also, do I pour the finished starter medium off the yeast before pitching?

I've seen 2ltr starters being used in 5 gallon batches and what doesn't make sense to me is that if you pitch the lot you're adding almost 10% extra volume to the batch, and that extra %age is not created from the original wort, so will it affect the flavour profile of the beer?

[Vossy1]

My head hurts

Mr Malty's getting the better of me...

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