Getting your homemade beer off to a good start
Homebrew Equipment needed for a Yeast Starter:

- 1 “growler” or large 22 oz bottle
- soup pot with a lid
- sanitizer
- airlock and stopper that fits your growler or bottle
- measuring cup
- yeast
- scissors or knife if you have to cut open the yeast packet
- 1/3 cup Dried Malt Extract (DME)
- small funnel

If using a Wyeast “slap pack”, make sure the pack is bulging (swollen so it’s hard to the touch) before making your yeast starter. It usually takes a “slap pack” anywhere from one day to one week for the packs to bulge. You should make your yeast starter a day in advance of the actual brewing day. If you plan on brewing on Friday night, make your yeast starter on Thursday night.

Steps for creating a yeast starter

1. Bring one pint of water to a boil in your soup pot.

2. Add your 1/3 cup of DME and boil your wort for approximately 3 minutes.

3. Take your pot off the heat, cover it with the lid and shut off your stove. Place your soup pot in a sinkful of cold water so it cools. DO NOT ADD COLD WATER OR ICE DIRECTLY TO THE SOUP POT.

4. Sanitize the growler/large bottle, airlock, funnel, and stopper while the soup pot is cooling.

5. When your wort has cooled (usually is cool within 15 minutes, try to get it down to 75-80F), add your cooled wort to the growler/large bottle via the funnel.

6. Add the yeast to the growler/large bottle via the funnel and place the airlock(filled halfway with water) and stopper on your growler/large bottle.

7. Voila! Your finished, keep the starter in a cool place between 65-75F. You should see some sign of fermentation within 12-24 hours. You want to pitch your yeast starter while it is active.

8. Make your batch of homebrew. Pitch yeast starter after the wort has cooled.