I am doing a Festa Brew Continental Pilsner kit (23 litres or 6 gallons) that I intend to lager. The plan is to pitch the starter at between 65 and 70, then cool the beer to 50ish for fermentation, then proceed with lagering as usual.
The yeast I'm going to use is a Wyeast Activator 2124 Bohemian Lager. Mr. Malty is telling me with one pack of this I need a 6.42 litre starter--and that's based on today's date. The date on the package is 10 Feb 09; so when I put that into the calculator it tells me I still need a six litre starter with TEN packs of yeast!
So...should I forget about this Wyeast and hydrate/pitch the dry yeast? Or is the smack pack likely to be okay if I do a 6 or 7 litre starter?
The yeast I'm going to use is a Wyeast Activator 2124 Bohemian Lager. Mr. Malty is telling me with one pack of this I need a 6.42 litre starter--and that's based on today's date. The date on the package is 10 Feb 09; so when I put that into the calculator it tells me I still need a six litre starter with TEN packs of yeast!
So...should I forget about this Wyeast and hydrate/pitch the dry yeast? Or is the smack pack likely to be okay if I do a 6 or 7 litre starter?