First Starter help
 

Hi,
So i plan on brewing a Trappist Christmas Ale (SG 1.070) and originally i purchased 2 vials of whitelabs to pitch into the wort because i did not know how to do a starter. Since then i bought a 2L starter kit. My question is: Should i use both vials when i make my starter? mrmalty seems to call for it though i dont know my yeast dates because i am not at home.

My plan is to make a starter tomorrow morning and brew friday. Is this enough time to make a starter? how long do i need to cold crash the starter to decant it?

Thanks for your help

This depends on the viability of the yeast, which is largely dependent on how old the vials are (so you'll need the dates). Most starter calculators take this into account (Mr Malty does). It will also depend on whether you're using a stir plate or not. If you are, one is probably ok, but if you aren't, you might need two. Go with what Mr Malty tells you on that one.

Yes, 24 hours is the best bet, but 14-18 should be good enough. If you aren't using a stir plate, be sure you shake the beejeezis out of that thing every time you walk by it.

Overnight would be best, but as long as possible up to 24 hours. If it doesn't look clear when you're about to brew, you can get away with dumping the whole thing into your beer. I wouldn't do that with delicately flavored beers, but with a trappist and all of those Christmas spices, I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference. Just make sure the starter smells ok (swirl it really well if you decide to dump it all in), then make your own judgment call.

great. thanks for the advice!!!! and i guess ill be doing the beejeezis thing :cross: no stir plate (yet)

since i have two vials could i just pitch them or do i still need to do a starter?

The date on the vials is critical here. If they are fresh then no worries just dumping the vials direct without a starter. If the are long in the tooth then not recommended I say. Use Mr Malty.

one vial says best before Sept 10, 2012
and the other vial says best before Oct 6, 2012

Those are 61% viable. White Labs uses a 4 month 'best by' period.

Using this calculator, you'll need a 3.5 L starter at a packaging date of June 20, 2012 with intermittent shaking.

Thank you, so i should pitch both vials into a starter. i only have a 2L and .5lbd of DME. will this be enough? need to start this soon in order to brew :)

You should always make a starter with liquid yeast. In a nutshell, if you want to increase cell count typically you'll do a 1.5 -2L starter. A minimum of over nite(12 hours) to whatever(24 hours or more)

If you want to pitch 2 fresh vials, you'll typically make a .5L starter 5-6 hours. This is to "wake" the yeast up and get them ready for work.

I love Yeastcalc

No, not in 1 starter.
If I have entered the yeast info correctly into yeastcalc, You have about 83 billion cells between the 2 vials.
You'll need to do a 1L starter 12-16 hours. Let it settle. Then step up with another 1L starter . 12-16 hours.

If you have a stir plate, you can do a 1.56L starter overnite.