#stirplate

For the last couple of years, I've been making my yeast starters the same way that James Bond probably would - shaken (every once in a while), not stirred (via a stir plate). (Sorry - I couldn't help myself). This has worked out fine for me since I usually make 2 or 3 gallon batches and generally don't need a mega-huge pitch of yeast cells. Heck, sometimes, when I'm feeling lazy, I forgo a starter altogether. In most cases, I end up with plenty of yeast cells for the small batches even with higher gravity beers. 

Well, that's about to change. In the near future, I will be making some 100% Brettanomyces beers, so those occasional shakes of the ol' Erlenmeyer aren't going to cut it to get proper Brett pitching rates. I need to step up my yeast game and get a stir plate. My non-Brett beers will benefit as well. 

What I forgot is that those little plates whose sole function is to spin a tiny magnet, cost around $100 from the homebrew shops. I did a little searching and found that it's possible to build one yourself for way less dough, so I gave it a try. It turns out it wasn't hard at all.

I got a lot of the details from this site, but I simplified my version by connecting the AC/DC adapter directly to the fan without a jack. I happened to have some old hard drive magnets sitting around and I found an old AC/DC adapter, so all in all, it only ended up costing around $15 in materials. Totally worth it.