Activity Streams

Ryan’s Red?
A Whiter Shade of Pale Ale?

Update! I was really worried that the fermentation wasn’t going to complete because of the high acidity, but I checked it while kegging and it was 0.098! I took a taste and it is actually pretty good (definitely better than I expected) right now, and it’s uncarbonated, warm, and unsweetened.

I went ahead and kegged both fermenters and added 2…[Read more]

I quite often make a yeast starter. I usually use liquid yeast and find my fermentation can be slow to get going without doing a starter. I don’t know that it makes my beer taste any better, though…

I used to make starters. Now I use Imperial yeast which has 200 billion cells or pack, so no need for a starter. I generally by enough to cover my OG based on BeerSmith calculations.

I think as long as your aren’t brewing a super high ABV beer you can get away with no starter. If I know a few days before I’m going to brew, I make a starter. However, most of the time, I brew pretty much on a whim and making a starter doesn’t fit the time frame. So, I buy the appropriate number of yeast packets for the OG of the beer I’m brewing…[Read more]

I have always just pitched directly into the wort or simply rehydrated dry yeast and haven’t ever had a problem but a lot of people have recommended doing yeast starters to get fermentation started faster, especially in higher gravity beers.