As long-time readers know, this blog also serves as my recipe collection. This recipe is a simple yeast starter to help ensure that I have enough yeast when I brew beer. The starter is approximately of gravity 1.040.
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup dry malt extract (DME). The type of DME matches the type of beer style you are going to brew. If you are planning on brewing a stout, use dark DME. If you are planning on brewing a brown ale, use amber DME, and so on.
I mix the DME with the water in an ordinary sauce pan and thoroughly dissolve the DME. Then I bring the wort mixture to a rolling boil for 10". TAfter the 10 minutes are up, I remove the wort from the burner, cover, and let it sit for two minutes. Next I cool the wort to about 65 degrees using an ice bath (i.e. I put the sauce pan into a large frying pan and completely and thoroughly surround the perimeter with ice cubes). It takes about 10 minutes to cool to the desired temperature.
After the wort has cooled, I pour the wort into a sanitized beaker, shake it vigorously to aerate, and pour in the yeast. I install a rubber plug and put an airlock in place. Lastly, I shake the beaker one more time to mix the yeast with the wort and then put the beaker in a dark room (usually my closet).
In a couple of days, there should be sufficient activity to allow me to brew my desired batch of beer.