| Author |
Message |
    
Joseph Listan
Member
Username: Poonstab
Post Number: 175
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 05:06 pm: | 
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I believe in oxygenation. I want to provide my starters with maximum aeration via filtered air and airstone. I do not want to use a stir plate.
Now then, it does not take a genius to figure out that foam coming out of the airlock is going to become an issue very quickly. So, how long will foam control agents last when continuously aerating a 1-gallon starter? Is there some mechanical way to kill foam? |
Bill Pierce
Moderator
Username: Billpierce
Post Number: 584
Registered: 01-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 05:22 pm: |
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Joseph, my considered opinion is that the foam control will last for 48 hours, which should be long enough to do the job in a yeast starter that is continuously aerated.
I can't recall where I saw this, but I seem to remember that continuous agitation was considered more effective than continuous aeration in terms of yeast propagation. If I were to use one of the methods alone I would be inclined to choose a stir plate. |
George Schmidt
Junior Member
Username: Gschmidt
Post Number: 85
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 07:43 pm: |
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Ah, yes, Bill. But a stone and aqua pump is much cheaper than a stir plate. (I am considering trying to make one myself out of an old 80mm PC fan inside a cigar box, though.) |
Craig Johnson
Intermediate Member
Username: Californiacraig
Post Number: 253
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 10:42 pm: |
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Go to labx.com for you laboratory needs NAYYY. It is like ebay for nerds except the prices are better than ebay. |
Hophead
Advanced Member
Username: Hophead
Post Number: 980
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 11:25 pm: |
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Running an air pump continuously in a starter seems like overkill to me... Running it for 10 minutes a few times a day would provide very similar end results IMHO. |
Mike Mayer
Intermediate Member
Username: Mmayer
Post Number: 301
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 11:41 pm: |
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My starters fit inside of a 1 gallon container. All I ever do is shake the crap out of it for about 30 seconds, and I always get a good start, never had a problem. Seems cheaper and easier to deal with than a stir plate or a pump. |
Kent Fletcher
Advanced Member
Username: Fletch
Post Number: 514
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Friday, September 17, 2004 - 01:45 am: |
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The best money I ever spent, in return for my brew-buck, was buying a stir plate. I got it for $15 plus about $8 shipping, off eBay. A firend of mine, Maribeth (MB) Raines, PhD (her doctorate is in Microbiology), did a paper on propagation, including oxygenation and stir plate use for yeast starters. You can download it here:
http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/MB_Raines_Guid_to_Yeast_Culturing.doc
The difference is 10 to 15 fold over "traditional" starter methods.
(Message edited by fletch on September 17, 2004) |
George Schmidt
Junior Member
Username: Gschmidt
Post Number: 88
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Friday, September 17, 2004 - 04:18 am: |
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That is a wonderful article, Kent. That one's getting saved. |
Colby Enck
Junior Member
Username: Thecheese
Post Number: 46
Registered: 06-2003
| | Posted on Friday, September 17, 2004 - 11:03 am: |
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"a stone and aqua pump is much cheaper than a stir plate"
...not if it's "procured" from the biotech company that's about to lay you off... ahem. |
Brandon Dachel
Senior Member
Username: Brandon
Post Number: 1212
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Friday, September 17, 2004 - 05:56 pm: |
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> The best money I ever spent, in return for my
Wow. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be checking ebay out later tonight. That paper was a great read. |
Kent Fletcher
Advanced Member
Username: Fletch
Post Number: 516
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Friday, September 17, 2004 - 11:45 pm: |
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MB has made a lot of homebrewers "stir crazy." She did a seminar on the subject at the 2001 NHC, I remember the flurry of discussion on the Digest following that. For a couple of months there seemed to be a lot more bidders for stir plates. Some here may remember her culturing kits.
(Message edited by fletch on September 17, 2004) |
Richard Nye
Member
Username: Yeasty_boy
Post Number: 240
Registered: 01-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, September 18, 2004 - 01:14 pm: |
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Kent, great article. I read it front to back and agree with everything MB says. I got a stirrer about a year ago, and I've had good ferments ever since. I think I'll get a hemacytometer and do a little research of my own. Thanks for the info. |
Sand
Member
Username: Sand
Post Number: 125
Registered: 03-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 01:04 am: |
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I have a stir plate for starters, I wonder if the speed of the stir has an effect on the amount of yeast produced.
Sand |
Brews and Views Archive 2004 
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