When you are learning all you need to know in order to make your own beer, you will also want to know an important concept called "Making a Yeast Starter". This is a method that you will use to prepare your yeast for the fermentation process by adding a small amount of yeast into the Wort. By doing this you are encouraging the yeast to multiply and create the right amount of yeast cells in order to create an ideal fermentation situation.

 

Amount of Yeast Needed

For most home brews, you will need to produce approximately 3.75 billion active yeast cells for only 5 gallons of ale. You will need even more than that for a Lager due to the fact that the process of fermentation lasts longer and is usually kept at colder temperatures. Because of this you will need to increase the amount of yeast so that you will have enough cells for the optimum fermentation situation.

Generally the rule is that if you have a bigger starter, the more reproduction you can expect because you have more sugar to create fuel for the process. Some brewing books will have mathematic formulas and research that will show you how to calculate the proper amount of starter you will need, however the easier way is to simply purchase a pitching rate calculator.

Prepare your Wort

The next thing you will need to do is to make some Wort for use in the starter, you will need this to feed your yeast, and to help you gage whether you will need table sugar in your starter. You will also want to take into account that it will also have to eat the sugar from the beer sugars (like maltose), having too much sugar may prove to be detrimental to your yeast and may cause them to give up on the fermentation process long before your beer is ready.

The next thing you will need is the right equipment which means a glass container, airlock, foil, and a stopper in order to get started with this process. You will want to boil your Wort and cover quickly when done to keep bacteria out, cool at room temperature. Be sure to clean your equipment to be used at a later date.

You will also want to ensure that the temperature you use for your starter should be the one you use before fermentation. You will want to add a small amount of yeast to your Wort so that you can start growing yeast cells. Lastly keep you starter covered, you would not want to have some bacteria ruin your beer.

When you have done this you may want to add yeast nutrient at this point it is to ensure that levels optimum for the fermentation is available.

Give your Starter Oxygen

In order for your active yeast to continue reproducing quickly, you will need to get oxygen to your starter fermentation. The right amount of oxygen will cause your starter to maximize in the quickest amount of time. Shaking your starter will help you when you are trying to give it more oxygen. Some enthusiast may even recommend the purchase of an aquarium pump to give it more oxygen. Making sure your Wort is oxygenated is the best way of ensuring that your yeast will reply.

Over all the most important thing is that when creating a starter is the way to ensure that you are able the right amount of yeast to ensure that your beer has the right taste and consistency.