Yeast Starter Planner

Check whether your yeast is enough for the batch, and plan a 1–2 L starter with light DME to grow more. Works with liquid and dry yeast, on a stir plate, shaken, or left still.

Beer

Batch size

Unit

Pitch rate (M/mL/°P)

High gravity is above 1.060.

Yeast

Type

Packs

Billion cells per pack

Manufactured

or days old

Viability % (optional)

Viability defaults to 97% and drops 0.7% a day from the manufacture date. Enter your own if your pack says otherwise; newer packs like PurePitch Next Gen hold up longer.

Starter

Volume

Gravity

Agitation

Flask

Plan

Enough yeast for this batch.

101 g light DME

176 B cells needed

97 B cells now (97% viable)

+141 B grown

238 B total

135% of target

1.01 M cells/mL/°P against a target of 0.75. Inoculation rate 0.96 B cells per gram of DME.

Estimates only (±15%). Growth uses Kai Troester’s (Braukaiser) model, with light DME at 44 PPG. Math from @jbaran/zymurgy.

Schedule

When you pitch

Pitch date

Time

24 hours before you pitchMake the starter. Pitch the yeast and stir at 68–72 °F for 18–24 hours.
When you pitchPitch the whole starter. At high krausen, while it’s still active and foamy.

Pick a pitch date to see the days and times.

Steps

Sanitize the flask, stir bar, foil, and anything that touches the cooled wort.
Mix 101 g of light DME with about 1 L of water, in the flask if it can go on the stove or in a pot. Add yeast nutrient if you use it (per the label) and a drop of antifoam if you have it.
Boil 10–15 minutes, watching for boilover.
Cover with sanitized foil and chill to 68–72 °F. Top up to 1 L with boiled, cooled water if the boil took some off.
Pitch the yeast (let the pack warm to room temperature first), add the stir bar, and stir at 68–72 °F.
Pitch the whole starter at high krausen, 18–24 hours in.