Do I really need a 5 litre starter?

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Handsaw

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I have a kit Millennium Falcon kit from AHS that I got about a month ago and I have kept the yeast in the fridge since it got here. I used HomeBrew Calculator on my smart phone and gave it the date I ordered the kit and it said that the viability of the yeast would be 75% and that I would need a 5 liter starter. That seems excessive and on top of that, I only have a 1 gal jug to do my starter. I do have a homemade stir plate that will keep 3 quarts of starter agitated.
A couple of things I am wondering about: is the 75% viability assuming that I left the yeast at room temperature the whole time and how can I make a 5 L starter with a 1 gal jug?

Then I went to Brewzor Pro BETA on my smart phone and put the same information in and it also said 75% viability but that I only needed a 1.5 qt starter. I can handle that.

Who do you believe?
 
Mr. Malty said with a OG of 1.065 making a 5 gallon batch with yeast that's 75% viable the starter size should be 3.83 Quarts assuming you use your stir-plate.

If you get a fresh yeast vial with 96% viability it says you only need 2.77 Quarts.
 
I don't know where you are getting these numbers from. The kit is a 5 gal ale. @ 1.065. at 75% viable with stir plate you need a 1L starter.

The viability is based on proper storage.
 
I don't know where you are getting these numbers from. The kit is a 5 gal ale. @ 1.065. at 75% viable with stir plate you need a 1L starter.

The viability is based on proper storage.

Convert L to quarts. The OP used quarts in his question.
 
Convert L to quarts. The OP used quarts in his question.

The OP used Liter and quarts, good catch. He asked if he needed 5l and mentioned what he had available in quarts. The responses came back for both quart and Liter... But really there is not much difference. A liter is less than 2 ounces more than a quart. I would safely say it's OK to make a 1 quart or 1 liter starter and it will be fine.
 
Thanks. I'm glad I asked. 5L just seemed like way too much.
I'm going with a 3 qt starter because I'm pretty sure that won't be too much and it is as big as I feel comfortable with in a 1 gal jug.
It is interesting to see all of the different answers the various caluclators give.
 
You want to input the date that's stamped on the yeast, not the date you ordered the kit. I've bought yeast that's been 2-3 months old before.
 
You want to input the date that's stamped on the yeast, not the date you ordered the kit. I've bought yeast that's been 2-3 months old before.

With Wyeast you enter the date on the package. When using White labs enter the date four months prior to the package date.
 
I used a packet of yeast dated February (2012) with the brew I made last weekend. I used yeastcalc.com to find what size starters to use (two steps) to get my yeast cell count needed for the brew. I had enough time to get the starters made, with enough cold crash time between them and have it cold crashed before needing to pitch it. Fermentation went active within the normal amount of time (~12 hours from pitching).

I use a stirplate for my starters, so I can make significantly smaller ones (than without a stirplate). With a two step schedule, I only needed to maker a 1.5L and 2L starter to get the cell count needed.

Moral of the story, you're better off with a stirplate and using a good calculation tool/site. Planning far enough ahead to be able to make a two, or even three, step starter will get you where you need to be much easier. Plus, you'll use less DME with that combination (stirplate and more than one starter step for older yeasts).
 
With Wyeast you enter the date on the package. When using White labs enter the date four months prior to the package date.

Good point! Though using that White Labs method I've occasionally ended up with yeast from the future :cross:
 
Edit: ? I'll have to think about that. Wyeast is 6 month expiration from date of packaging.:D

I think that's more of a guideline than a hard line. Especially since I just used yeast that was about 8 months old (with the stepped starter mentioned earlier).

I have some WLP099 vials that I plan on using soon. Those are about the same age (will have to double check them) but I'll make at least a couple of starters for the brew. IF the first starter step does nothing at all (given enough time) then I'll pretty much know the yeast has expired and won't be viable. I'm pretty sure, though, that there will be enough yeast cells left alive to at least get the first step going, so that I can do another step, or two, to get the cell count needed.
 
I used a packet of yeast dated February (2012) with the brew I made last weekend. I used yeastcalc.com to find what size starters to use (two steps) to get my yeast cell count needed for the brew. I had enough time to get the starters made, with enough cold crash time between them and have it cold crashed before needing to pitch it. Fermentation went active within the normal amount of time (~12 hours from pitching).

I use a stirplate for my starters, so I can make significantly smaller ones (than without a stirplate). With a two step schedule, I only needed to maker a 1.5L and 2L starter to get the cell count needed.

Moral of the story, you're better off with a stirplate and using a good calculation tool/site. Planning far enough ahead to be able to make a two, or even three, step starter will get you where you need to be much easier. Plus, you'll use less DME with that combination (stirplate and more than one starter step for older yeasts).

Can you explain how you use less DME using 2 starters than you use with 1? I may be able to figure it out later in the day, but it is early yet.
Thanks
:confused:
 
Can you explain how you use less DME using 2 starters than you use with 1? I may be able to figure it out later in the day, but it is early yet.
Thanks
:confused:

Easy... To get the same cell count from my 1.5L and 2.0L starters, as a single starter, it would have needed to be 21.5L in size. That's using a stirplate too. So, making my 1.5L and 2.0L starters used all of 350 grams of DME. Making a 21.5L starter would have used 2150 grams of DME. You use 100 grams of DME per 1L of starter.

Use the yeastcalc.com site/calculation tool to figure out up to three starter steps. While it will take you more time, with DME costing what it does, it's a better method, IMO/IME. With a stirplate, I can typically get a starter to finish in under 36 hours. That's for the initial step for older yeast packs. The second step is often finished in under 12-18 hours. I simply cold crash for about 12-24 hours between steps in order to get the yeast to gather at the bottom of the flask. I can then decant the spent starter wort off of the cake and add fresh starter wort to it. Then it goes back onto the stirplate.

BTW, do NOT use an airlock on your starters. Also don't close/seal them off. Use either a piece of sanitized aluminum foil to keep things from falling in, but promote gas exchange (CO2 out, O2 in) or use one of the foam stoppers sold for flasks.
 
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