My preference is to make a starter about 18-24 hours before pitch, and dump the whole starter in. However, for a bigger beer, there's a bigger starter, and I don't dump the whole thing in. So, for bigger beers I make my starter 2-3 days before brewday, crash after 24 hours, and decant on brewday.
I tried something new tonight.
I pulled my big starter from the fridge when I started brewing. After mash, before the boil, I pulled 1/2 qt from the kettle. I boiled that separately, then cooled, decanted my starter, and added the 1/2 of wort.
This worked great! By the time my boil was done, the starter flask had a nice krausen going. It was real thick by the time I was ready to pitch.
I tried something new tonight.
I pulled my big starter from the fridge when I started brewing. After mash, before the boil, I pulled 1/2 qt from the kettle. I boiled that separately, then cooled, decanted my starter, and added the 1/2 of wort.
This worked great! By the time my boil was done, the starter flask had a nice krausen going. It was real thick by the time I was ready to pitch.
