Making a yeast starter for 10 gallons of beer

Water and Dry Malt Extrat

Making a yeast starter may be intimidating to some, however this task really is simple and doesn’t take that long. First off, you should know why you are wanting to make a yeast started. Most five gallon batch don’t require a yeast starter.

White Labs stated that you should make a starter for brews with a starting gravity of 1.080 of higher. This would be considered a “high gravity” beer. You may also need to make a starter if you are brewing more than five gallons of beer. Some brewers create starters for faster fermentation starts.

The process of making your starter should take place 1-3 days prior to brewing your beer. I tend to make mine 2 days prior. You should plan for this time.

Before you create your starter, you must make sure that all items that come in contact with your wart have been properly clean or sanitized. This includes bungs, spoons, airlocks, tin foil, and any other item that might come in contact.

Most brewers create their starters in a flask. I tend to favor a 1000ml size, however it is common to use a 2000ml size as well. My end starter volume is approximately 900ml.

I use a light colored dry malt extract (DME) for my starters. I use light colored DME so it doesn’t tend to impact the overall ending color of my beer.

Starter inside a boil kettle

 

You need to boil the DME in your water for approximately 20 minutes. This creates a wort with an ending gravity of around 1.040. Once the wort has been made, you need to cool it to pitching temperature.

 I do this by means of an ice bath. Bring the temperature down to around 70 degrees (or pitching temp). CAUTION – Do not put your boiling hot flask directly in ice, it can shatter the glass.

I boil my starter inside a flask inside a boil kettle. Add just the right amount of water to make your flask buoyant.

 

The Starter is boiling away

Once your wart has been cooled to pitching temperature, pitch the yeast. You will notice the active part of fermentation only lasts around 3 hours. In fact, you might even miss it.

 

Starter in an Ice Bath