First Yeast Starter Questions

[solly]

It's my first go at a Yeast Starter; mainly I have been using Youngs GP yeast which is only a couple of pounds and lasts for quite a while, whilst the specialised yeasts like the Lalvin GV2 are quite expensive.

But I have over 30lbs of Blackberry’s in the freezer that needs be emptied ready for the coming Fruit Season, hence the reason for a yeast starter as I have so many batches to do but after reading on here and on other forums I am still a little confused on a couple of points:

I made the starter using:
½ pint of water
3 ts of sugar,
1 ts of citric acid
½ ts of Nutrient,
Put all together in a small pan and brought to the boil, after it had cooled
Put it in a bottle with 1 ts of the GV2 yeast .

Shortly after making the starter a white sediment formed at the bottom of the bottle, My questions are:
Is the level in the bottle about right, should the starter be shaken so that the sediment is mixed before adding to the Blackberry must and should I just add about ¾ of the starter contents and then re-top the bottle to about the same level as before and then add the same ingredients again to form another starter......Is it that easy?

[granda]

im not sure but my logic says that should work as long as you are making a new batch every couple of days as the yeasties will eat through all the nutrient and sugar very quickly
hopefully someone more knowledgable will be along soon to set things straight

[Rich]

Looks like you read the starter instructions HERE perfectly

Yes, give it a shake/swirl before adding half or so to your must. Then top up with the starter and give it a bit more sugar to keep it going. You can keep this going so long as it doesn't get contaminated, as that would then spread to all the wines you add it to!

I keep mine in the fridge to slow down the ferment once it gets going. Then allow it to warm up to the same temp as the must before adding.

[granda]

how long would the starter 'keep' for and do you have to keep feeding it to keep it alive

[lockwood1956]

You wouldn't keep a starter alive for more than about 6 months or so, but one starter can be made to last through the autumn winemaking season

see the tutorial for more details
HERE

[koomber]

I tried my first couple ferments using a starter this week (as opposed to just hydrating). If the wine's went any faster, I would have got whiplash looking at it.

It is the way forward and make no mistake!

[lockwood1956]

it is the way forward and make no mistake!

It's the future....I've tasted it!

[fatbloke]

Yes, making a starter is the way forward, but in truth, unless you're going to use the same yeast for all your wine making, then you'd have to have about 4 or 5 starters running - as the differences with yeast can make such a profound difference to the end product.

For example, when I first started (making meads), it would be youngs high alcohol/Dessert wine yeast and then EC-1118. But I've found that for my purposes, they're not much use as they seem to blow so much of the more delicate aromas/flavours straight out the airlock!

Which is why I've currently settled on K1V and D21.

I feel that K1V is better to use as a general purpose product as it ferments reasonably high alcohol, but also seems to retain flavours/aromas so much better - particularly with aged products (meads specifically).

Yes, those in the know, will understand that actually D21 and K1V are quite similar, but even a nugget like me can tell the difference in end products that have been made to the same recipe.......

So I'd say that rather than using the same one, if you've settled on something that's "general purpose" then maybe make that as a starter that you want to keep running for a while, but others are made into starters as and when they're needed.

Just my 2 pence worth......

regards

jtfb

[granda]

there you go learnt something new today and as ive got a few wines planned in the next month ar so im going to use a yeast starter for them all
goodbye recession

[Cellar_Rat]

I have successfully frozen 250ml PET bottles with strongly fermenting wine in. To use remove from freezer, cut the bottle in half and allow it to thaw in the must - brill.

I am not sure thawing in the microwave would be a good idea!

[koomber]

I have successfully frozen 250ml PET bottles with strongly fermenting wine in. To use remove from freezer, cut the bottle in half and allow it to thaw in the must - brill.

I am not sure thawing in the microwave would be a good idea!

Top Tip! I'll just have to buy a bigger freezer now as mine is at breaking point already!

[solly]

Thanks for the replies - but its hasn't gone too well, put the starter in last night at around 7pm, checked it at midnight and again this morning and there isn't any activity (Its in a bucket and normally you can hear it hissing etc).

Will check again when I get home from work tonight and if it hasnt taken off, then will just add the yeast as normal and try again on the next batch.

[David]

I have successfully frozen 250ml PET bottles with strongly fermenting wine in. To use remove from freezer, cut the bottle in half and allow it to thaw in the must - brill.

That's an excellent tip.

I'll get enough yeast starters from a 60g tub of GP yeast to pitch in 6 gall batches so that it only works out a 3p/gall for yeast (using 250ml of starter/gall), but this could get the cost/gall of 'expensive' sachets of yeast right down......'

EDIT: Told OH I'd just read a good tip on cutting down cost of yeast starters and she said "freezing them?" as she freezes fresh bread yeast but says that it's only recommended to keep frozen yeast for 3 months (but I seem to remember reading something about yeasts in Antarctic ice lasting for considerably longer), so is there a use by time?

She also said (from PTA school disco duties) that Cash & Carry stores sell trays of mini PET bottled drinks (panda pops?) that work out at about 5p/bottle.

[solly]

.................Got home tonight and it had a big cap just like you get when you use fresh grapes and you have to push the cap down

Guess it just wanted a bit longer to start but now it has started its just like Koomer has experienced with his starter. The only thing I didnt like was the cotton wool plug, as I pulled the plug out bits of the wool had stuck to the top of bottle, pulled all the bits off, but it did worry me as everything had been boiled and sterilized and and yet we use a cotton bud pulled out of a bag......how do you sterilize that?

Not sure what other people use but next time I might just use a loosley fitted plastic stopper that can be sterilized.........Thanks for all the replies............Its a great forum

[Cellar_Rat]

... why do I get the feeling I have created a dip in Youngs profits! LOL