Used wyeast starter IPA, use for Lager???

We are about to transfer a northern brewer IPA from primary to secondary. We used a wyeast smack pack with a yeast starter kit for it. We have a Vienna Lager we want to brew this weekend. This kit came with a dry yeast pack. Can I reuse the wyeast cake from the IPA? Could I use that cake, add the dry yeast to it along with a new yeast starter for the Lager? Or should I not use it. Could I make a starter yeast with the dry yeast pack?
Thanks!

Dry yeast starter part of your question is a debate I don't want to get into.

My question is, are you asking if its ok to mix a Lager yeast and an ale yeast? If so would say no, but it might be a fun experiment.

lol, yes we don't care very much about this vienna lager kit. We have 2 and cannot ferment like a typical lager. We just received a new keg for the keezer so it'll have to wait. We want to ferment in the cooler basement then bottle it.

what yeast strain did you use for the IPA?

if it's an ale strain, which i'm guessing it is, you will no longer have a lager if you use that strain exclusively - it could still be very clean and lagerlike but won't be a lager

if you use ale yeast and lager yeast you will likely have one of 2 results depending what temp range you ferment in
1 - at ale temps you'll prob get some nasty esters and off flavors from the lager yeast
2 - at lager temps the ale yeast will most likely remain dormant and not do much of anything

generally starters are not recommended for dry yeast but 1 packet of yeast is likely underpitching for a lager unless you have a very low OG

edit: if you cannot ferment at lager temps I would suggest using some of the yeast from the other batch and ferment towards the lower end of the yeasts range. use mr malty calculator to determine how much yeast slurry to use - you don't want to just pitch on top of the entire cake

Ok thanks and sorry for the Newb question. It's a Vienna lager threw brewers best and came with a small dry yeast pack. I'm sure it's nothing burley, but it'll be drinkable at non-lager temps?

Just to throw something else into the mix. I think it was brewing tv that had an episode where they did an experiment on Lager yeast vs ale yeast at higher temps. End result was that the Lager yeast tastes better than the ale yeast. So even if you can't Lager the beer you could still use the yeast with better results. I haven't tried it but that is what they said.

Well that's what i'd definitely like to try. Now to search for this episode, and get the correct amount of cakey goodness. Thanks!

felix_434 said:

Well that's what i'd definitely like to try. Now to search for this episode, and get the correct amount of cakey goodness. Thanks!

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Well report back. Make sure to record it.