dassy

Recipes 

not sure if I still need starter for this

hercher

Recipes 

Nope. It's good to go. A starter helps, but is unnecessary.

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stratslinger

Recipes 

Thats not a starter, just a nutrient pack. Yes, you still should use a starter in the same way you would with a liquid vial.

pabloj13

Recipes 

Not sure I'd say that. We don't know the yeast, the OG of their beer, etc. In almost all cases it is beneficial and in some cases it is completely necessary.

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johnsma22

Recipes 

It totally depends on the gravity of your brew and what the yeast cell count of the smack pack that you used is. What type of smack pack did you use? If it was a propagator pack you absolutely need to make a starter. In fact, the use of a starter for any brew using liquid yeast can never hurt.

Also, these smack packs, regardless of which type, are not starters. They have a small pouch of yeast nutrients inside that helps activate and wake up the yeast when you burst it open, but the cell counts do not increase by any appreciable amount.

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dassy

Recipes 

That is the pack I have. I see online others use a starter for these but others do not. I am caught in the middle. To start or not to start, that is the question.

kcolby

Recipes 

You should check out MrMalty Mrmalty.com to determine the proper pitching rate for your specific beer. The Smack Packs are designed to be a pitchable quantity for an average 5 gallon batch. However, We're homebrewers, since when do we do average?

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mcaple1

Recipes 

The smack pack is less of a starter, and more of a nutrient based proofer. Despite what the video shows, you will likely need to make a starter if your OG is higher than 1.060, but for normal gravity beers, you should be OK. Just to be clear...the smack pack IS NOT A STARTER!!!

Diver165

Recipes 

Follow what the directions say.

+1 for what Kcoby said.

Diver165

Recipes 

This is correct. What I was trying to convey was that this type of yeast typically does not need a traditional starter. That the activator would in most cases be all that is needed to be used.