jigidyjim

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Curious if anyone had thoughts on this:

Would it be more effective to pitch 2 vials into a 1L starter, or to make a starter with 1 vial and just pitch the second vial as-is?

I know it is a weird question, but I need a lot of yeast and don't have the time/equipment to properly step up a starter, so I have two vials that I'm working with.

Thanks!

LLBeanJ

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Without more info, I can't really say. With that said, if you take a stroll over to yeastcalc.com you should be able to run the numbers yourself and determine what would work best for your situation. IMO, yeastcalc.com is an invaluable tool for these types of questions.

jigidyjim

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I guess what I'm more wondering: would over pitching a typical 1L starter be bad for the starter? (Typical 1L starter for me is about 3oz dme in 1q water, which comes out to about 8.5 to 1 ratio, mr. malty recommends 10 to 1).

I'm using WLP036 to do a dusseldorf alt, and I want to ferment it at low temps (50's) - from what I've read I should use extra yeast if I want to do it this way. So I bought two vials. I'm trying to decide if I should use one or both vials in the starter. (my equipment limitations: I have one 1L flask for starters, so I can't step up, and I can't make 2 starters).

Skyforger

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I'm pretty sure you'll get more yeast if you just pitch one vial into the starter, then pitch the starter and the extra vial. If you pitch both in it won't be bad for it necessarily; the yeast will be about as healthy and vital either way (so long as the vials are reasonably fresh). But since you're starting with so much yeast there would be less 'room' for the yeast to replicate.

I could be doing the math wrong, though. A good yeast calc could tell you for sure. I don't think the difference would be that appreciable either way though.

LLBeanJ

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Need to know the following to make an informed decision...

What is the vialibility date on the vials?
What is the OG of the brew?
How many gallons are you shooting for in the fermenter?
How do you agitate your starters? (e.g., stir plate or manually?)

IMO, mrmalty leaves a lot to be desired. I know a lot of HBT'ers use it, but I found it to be pretty vague, which is why I use and recommend yeastcalc. No comparison between the two, as far as I'm concerned.

Edit: According to yeastcalc, a single vial with 3 oz. dme/.8 liters water will give you 187 billion cells, assuming a viability date of 5/1 (83%). The same starter size using two vials (same viability date) will give you 272 billion cells. So, based on this, it really makes no difference (you only gain ~2 billion cells) if you use both vials for the starter, as opposed using one vial for the starter and then direct pitching the 2nd vial into your fermenter along with the starter.

jigidyjim

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Cool. Thanks!