Beer Forum

Howdy,

I'm thinking of getting a stir plate but i'm not clear on determining how long the starter should sit. I have heard times from 12hrs to 32hrs. Currently, I intermittently shake my starters and pitch anywhere from 16 to 24 hours.

- From Mr malty: stirplate, 1.060 OG = 1 vial in 1l starter. How long on the stir plate?

- Is there some generalized rule of thumb for stir time or are you determining based on OG, Starter size, yeast viability/amount?

Cheers


-

I try to pitch at about 18 hours, the whole time it's on the stirplate.

I usually make my starter the evening before brew day using my stir plate.

First, a stirplate is highly recommended. There is a huge bump-up in yeast growth when you use it. Don't be afraid to build your own either - you can get all the parts from Radio Shack for $30-50 (I used these instructions when I built mine).

If I recall, Jamil and John said during the Brew Strong - Yeast Starter show that maximal yeast cell density occurs between 18-24 hours for a starter on a stir plate. So I'm with the previous posters - I try to make my starters the day before the brew session.

The only exception to the above would be if you want to step up yeast in multiple steps and need to decant off the spent wort between steps (which is sometimes needed for lagers or if your growing yeast out of a bottle). In these cases, you should really let the ferment out to completion (2-4 days), then put it in the fridge for 24 hours to help floc the yeast out, decant, and then pour the fresh wort for the next step-up on top of the remaining yeast slurry.

Hope this helps.

-Okt

Oktober wrote:Don't be afraid to build your own either - you can get all the parts from Radio Shack for $30-50

This is the one I got from Nikobrew.com...some guy in Michigan builds them. I think I paid $49 with shipping.

http://www.nikobrew.com/products/%22Stir-Starter%22-Stir-Plate.html

TheDarkSide wrote:This is the one I got from Nikobrew.com...some guy in Michigan builds them. I think I paid $49 with shipping.

http://www.nikobrew.com/products/%22Stir-Starter%22-Stir-Plate.html

That's a good deal!

-Okt

If I am brewing on Monday, I have been making my starters on Friday night. The whole time on the stirplate. Monday morning I will put it in the fridge to floc out the yeast. Start brewing at noon, around 3 pm I will pull the flask out of the fridge, decant off a majority of the spent wort and let it warm to room temp. About 5 pm pitch the yeast.

Seems to work for me. I don't like pouring the whole 1.5 - 2 L starter into my wort, so I decant off most of it, leaving about 0.8 L with the yeast.

HedgehogBC wrote:If I am brewing on Monday, I have been making my starters on Friday night. The whole time on the stirplate. Monday morning I will put it in the fridge to floc out the yeast.

See...this is the part I don't get. Some say ( Jamil being on of them I think ) to pitch yeast at high krausen. Others, like you, ferment it out, chill, decant and pitch that yeast. What is the best method and why?

Sorry to thread jack DBear, but I think this helps answer your question too.