What is a yeast starter and how do I prepare one?
A yeast starter is essentially a “mini-beer.” It is used as an intermediary step whereby one goes from having a small culture of yeast to ending up with a considerably larger culture. Your aim is to provide your brew with a sufficient colony of yeast, to reduce lag time, obtain optimum attenuation from the selected yeast strain, and to prevent “off” or unintended flavors from ending up in the finished product that can be caused by under-pitching yeast. If you are using a 1.75 oz. Wyeast slap-pack you will need to remove it from refrigeration, slap the pack and allow the yeast to activate and expand the pack. Allow the pack to swell to at least an inch thick before pitching into your starter. Mix 16 ounces of water and 1/3 to cup of malt extract together and bring to a boil for 15 minutes. Cool this mixture to proper pitching temperature (65-75 for most ales, 45-55 for most lagers) and then pitch the yeast. A healthy froth on the yeast starter should develop after 1 or 2 days at which p
