Wyeast Question

Hey Guys,
Brewing Sunday afternoon, first time using Wyeast. OG on beer should be somewhere around 1079. My question is; If I smack my pack now, let it sit on the counter for 3 hrs. Then make a 750ml starter will I be good to go by late in the day Sunday....roughly 36 hrs in the starter???? Thanks!!!

You can smack it and make starter straight away. No need to wait for it to inflate

And yes should be plenty of time

and you shouldn't wait 36h, let it run for 12-16h, after that there will be no nutrition in the starter and cell number will be going down

Polboy said:

and you shouldn't wait 36h, let it run for 12-16h, after that there will be no nutrition in the starter and cell number will be going down

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Doesnt matter too much if it takes longer. If you want to decant off the starter "beer" you have to wait longer

Thanks guys!!

sockmerchant said:

Doesnt matter too much if it takes longer. If you want to decant off the starter "beer" you have to wait longer

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he is making really small starter, at 750ml whole smack pack (around 100 billion cells) will eat all the sugars in less than 12h then for another 24 it will be just spinning on the stir plate and yeast will eat each others so i would cold crash before pitching
Powodzenia

yeah, i was assuming he'd be cold crashing if he wanted to decant

Though with such a small starter, i probably wouldn't bother. Pretty sure mr malty would suggest at least 1.5 liter starter. Oh well, its something

Since when do yeast eat each other? That's the first time I have heard that and I read the entire book on Yeast published by Jamil.

In any case, JZ recommends that the minimum volume of a starter should be 1 L. For your OG a 750 ml starter seems a little low. If you are going to pitch the entire starter then it is probably best to pitch at high krausen which would be about 12-18h. Personally, I let me mine go 24 h then rest for 24 h and finally crash cool for 24 h before decanting the spent wort before pitching. The resting period allows the glycogen reserves to be built up which they need to completely attenuate the beer.

Not sure if its right or wrong....after doing a little more reading I've decided to build up the starter twice. 1L starter (650ml water & 1/2c DME) on the counter for 12 hrs. Cold crash a couple hrs. Decant. Add second 1 L starter, sit for 12 hrs. Cold crash, decant. then pitch once up to room temp. From what I read it should work?

From the horse's mouth.

From the Wyeast FAQ website:

3. Does the package need to be fully swollen before pitching?

No, The package can be pitched before activating, or at anytime during the activation process. The activation process "jump starts" the culture's metabolism, minimizing the lag phase.

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Since you're making a starter you really don't need to wait for the pack to inflate.

WhiteEagle1 said:

Not sure if its right or wrong....after doing a little more reading I've decided to build up the starter twice. 1L starter (650ml water & 1/2c DME) on the counter for 12 hrs. Cold crash a couple hrs. Decant. Add second 1 L starter, sit for 12 hrs. Cold crash, decant. then pitch once up to room temp. From what I read it should work?

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It'll take more than a couple of hours for the yeast to drop after you chill the starter. If you decant too soon you'll be loosing most of the yeast that you just grew. Why not just make a single starter large enough for your beer, chill that for a couple of days and decant just before pitching?

I guess its because I'm set up to brew tomorrow afternoon. This is my first beer with a high gravity......didn't plan my started well enough.

If you are set on your brew day, just pitch a 1l starter. Dont decant, just shake it up and pour the whole thing in

. . . or buy another pack of yeast.