Yeast Starter Considerations for an IPA

Hello all,

Today is Friday, and I'm planning on brewing a decently heavy IPA (est. OG at 1.075) on Sunday. This was kind of a last-minute concept, and I will be buying my supplies in the morning.

The main question I have is regarding the yeast starter. I will be using the WL070 San Diego Super Yeast, and will probably buy two vials tomorrow to be on the safe side. I will make a 2L starter tomorrow using DME (I guess late in the day perhaps or evening) and pitch it in the beer on Sunday with the idea that it will probably be at high krausen by that point.

My issue is this - I've always made yeast starters several days in advance, let them ferment out, cold crash the night or two before to let the yeast flocculate to the bottom, decant, and pitch the yeast cake. I've never pitched extra wort from a yeast starter (well, pitching the yeast cake has a tiny amount of wort I guess but nothing significant).

Thus, I'm assuming I need to account for this extra DME in my recipe. Not a problem, I can adjust down a half gallon and then make up for it with the starter wort. That said, I'm brewing an IPA and only using some dextrose to supplement the grains. Will using DME in the yeast starter have any noticeable effects in terms of body, "thickness", etc., when it is added to the total IPA wort? I don't usually use DME in beer recipes - only for starters - so I'm curious as to what to expect.

Also, if I'm using two vials in a 2L starter, how much DME should I use to make my yeast friends happy?

You could use only one vial, and still have more than enough yeast for 5 gal at 1.075. I use "yeastcalc.com" to figure out everything, you just input the yeast's age, size of batch, the original gravity, and volume of the starter. For a 2L starter, they say to use 7.1 oz's DME. It also has an option for using a stir plate, or just shaking the starter. With a stirplate, the starter will finish much quicker.

I like WLP090 S.D.S.Y. because it ferments out very quickly, like 2 days on a stirplate. I didn't cold crash my starter either, and it dropped clear, after sitting only a couple days.


edit: You will be good pitching the whole starter at high krausen, I doubt you'll notice any off flavor from it.

You could save your wort in the fermenter with the airlock until the starter is cooled / decanted. If you have temp control and keep it cold, I've done this without issues.

if your starter isn't much bigger than 1L for a 5 gallon batch then you will be fine. 1.5L might be pushing it a bit and 2L will probably have a noticeable effect. this is a debated issue though so you may see a few arguments for and against this.

i personally try to keep my starters around 1L - 1.3L and pitch the appropriate amount of vials to ensure good yeast health and an ideal cell count. i'm an advocate for pitching an active starter whenever possible. in my experience, fermentation goes a little quicker when the yeast are pitched while active, and i tend to think that it also leads to a healthier fermentation. but i really don't think that you will be screwed if you have to chill and decant.

finally, 2 vials in a 2L starter seems like a lot more yeast that you need for that particular beer. my last beer was 1.072 and i pitched 2 vials in a 1.15L starter. i ended up getting a few billion more cells than i needed (according to the calculators).

Is the yeast your getting not very fresh? If so you should wait until there re-activated by way of a starter. If they are quite fresh then it sounds as though you could be over pitching with such an attentive yeast as a Super cal strain just my 2cents

Thanks, I am on my way to pick up the yeast, so I'll go with one vial then. I just wanted to be sure I'd have enough.

ZenFitness said:

Thanks, I am on my way to pick up the yeast, so I'll go with one vial then. I just wanted to be sure I'd have enough.

Click to expand...

Pick up some yeast nutrient while your there, they love that stuff

chuckstout said:

pick up some yeast nutrient while your there, they love that stuff

Click to expand...

+1

I've used SDSY several times for both West Coast Pale Ales and IPAs. I rarely ever pitch more than a 1 liter starter and haven't bothered to decant the starter wort. I would be more concerned about over-pitching this yeast, because of how aggressive it is.

If your set on buying 2 vials of 090. Don't even worry about making a starter. My 2 cents. Nevermind just read that your gonna buy just one sorry

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