Beer Forum

I just listened to the Brew Strong show about temp control. This is a subject that I've always thought I had put maximum effort into

I love the part where Jamil said not to bother with expensive conicals and such until you've spent some money on temp control

Let me tell you that this is where much of my brewing budget has gone.

Any way, I was very interested in the part about letting your carboys sit for 12-24 hours to acheave the proper pitching temp before pitching your yeast

Here's the question

If i'm going to let the carboys sit in my fridge for 24 hours before I pitch then couldn't I take some of my wort on brew day and make a starter with it that would be ready to pitch when the carboy has reached temp?

My Erlenmeyer flash would be much easier to get down to pitching temp then the 5 gallon carboy

what do you guys think????

Blowmax10 wrote:
If i'm going to let the carboys sit in my fridge for 24 hours before I pitch then couldn't I take some of my wort on brew day and make a starter with it that would be ready to pitch when the carboy has reached temp?

Yes. I do it all the time.

+1...plus it lets you rack off the cold break before pitching which makes re-pitching much easier which saves money on yeast which allows you to buy more ingredients which allows you to brew more...it's a vicious cycle but i'm willing to tolerate it!

i agree about racking off the trub. that has helped my beers become more clear and it also has improved the taste not sitting on all that nasty protien that is degrading while fermenting.

This process has several significant advantages, but let me be the wet blanket and suggest some flaws:

1) Many sources agree that a proper starter gravity is around 1.040. Higher gravities can stress yeast during this important growth phase. So this method would be risky with bigger beers.

2) A starter is a bit of an insurance policy, especially if done before the full wort is made. If the yeast has been abused during storage, it may take a while to start up, or may not start up at all. I definitely like the feeling of seeing my starter bubbling away (and having the chance to taste the starter) before I've spent all day making my wort. I can always put off my brewday if my starter is shit.

Like everything else in brewing, you've got to weigh the merits and disadvantages and find your comfort zone. And then change your mind and just do whatever is easier.

I agree. I always make my starters a day or (or 3 or 5, depending on if I step them up) before I brew, generally around 1.040, then crash it in the fridge. On brew day, I decant, warm the slurry, and add fresh wort from the brew I just finished, just to wake it up a bit while the main wort is chilling completely, typically overnight for lagers.

To those of you that told me I was asking for an infection by letting my lagers get to pitching temps before I pitched by sitting in my ferm fridge...


NANANANANANANANANANANAANAA...

Nuff said

I no chill and this is one of the big advantages for me; a real wort starter. Someone mentioned the gravity issue of the starter. Easy fix ... water it down.