williamset

Recipes 

Pretty much every opinion I read states that starters are always recommended. Many say they're necessary to achieve proper fermentation quick enough on beers 1.060 OG and higher. Knowing this, why doesn't Wyeast or White Labs put more than 100 billion cells in their packages?

Brewmaster_CPA

Recipes 

I've always wondered this too. It's kind of annoying but oh well.

SteveHeff

Recipes 

+1

CityOChampBrew

Recipes 

one word... money

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kh54s10

Recipes 

This would be my guess also.

Qhrumphf

Recipes 

Money is one possibility. I'd also wonder if maybe it has something to do with being able to A) guarantee the cell count and B) guarantee viability.

And in reality, a starter would be necessary at a much lower gravity than 1.060. Unless your gravity is 1.028 or below, and your yeast is 96% viable (basically less than a few days old, it'll spend more than that in transit to the LHBS most of the time), you're going to need some form of starter for a 5 gallon batch if you want an optimal pitch rate. That said, if I'm brewing a beer 1.035 or below, I generally don't make a starter unless the yeast is fairly old. Anything else, I do.

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