Make better beer with yeast starters.

Dave Carpenter Jul 11, 2017 - 7 min read

Brewing the best beer possible means using enough yeast to get the job done. Unfortunately, a single vial or pack of liquid yeast contains only enough cells for very low gravity ales, up to about 1.030. Although you could simply use multiple packages, this can get expensive if you make lagers or high-gravity ales.

But yeasts are living organisms, and given nutrients and a food source, they’ll happily reproduce. Homebrewers can use this to their advantage by making a yeast starter. A properly made starter lets you build up the number of yeast cells you need from just one package and can save you money.

A starter is simply a small volume of wort that’s used for the sole purpose of growing yeast cells. It takes only about half an hour, but plan to make it at least 24 hours before you need the yeast. This will give the yeast cells time to reproduce.

You can purchase or build specialized equipment for starters, or it can be done quite economically with items you may already have. Here’s what you’ll need for a one-liter starter:

Make your starter at least 24 hours before you need the yeast.

That’s it! If you started with healthy yeast, your starter will begin fermenting fairly soon. You may or may not notice Kräusen (foam) on top of the wort, but you should notice the wort becoming cloudy as the yeast gets to work.

You don’t need to cover the lid tightly. In fact, oxygen is good for yeast growth. If you remember, give the vessel a good swirl or two every couple of hours.

You can use the starter in one of two ways:

The method you choose is up to you. Some brewers don’t want spent starter wort going into their beer. Others don’t mind.

Fermentation is where beer is made. In Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®’s online course How to Manage Your Fermentation for Better Beer, Josh Weikert covers fermentation temperature, yeast pitching rates, and everything else you need to know about managing fermentation. Sign up today and put yourself on the road to brewing better beer.

Today’s homebrewers enjoy more yeast choices than ever.

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