Can I make a starter from my WYeast Irish Ale Smackpack?

Im planning on splitting it between two batches of 5 Gallon Oatmeal stout.

I was told I could make a starter. Is there anything new to do if working with liquid yeast smackpacks?

You want to make two starters from one pack?
If so, I am glad you asked. I was about to try and do four one quart starters from a single smack pack and wasn't sure how it would go.

I've been drinking tonight, so I'm pretty blurry. But I was just looking at this:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html for someone else, and I think it'll answer your questions. You can divide the starter multiple times, once you get a large amount of yeast and then make a starter again. (Does that make sense?)

Yeah ive looked on the forum every where. Im not sure how to make a starter from a smack pack.

I just think that splitting it without making a starter might turn out a bad fermentation.

But im a noob.

Just search on starters. Basically, you'll boil some extract in water to make a mini-batch of beer. Make enough for two starters, such as 4L. Then divide the wort into two starter vessels, cool, and pitch the yeast, dividing as equally as possible between the two (but it's not rocket science...eyeballing it is good enough). Pretty soon you'll have two seperate starters from one smackpack.

ok I smacked the pack and am waiting now for 24 hours.

I have liquid malt but I dont have dry malt. Any idea how much between both starters? It said half a cup of dry malt.

I do it by weight...3oz DME per litre, so I'd say ~4oz or 115g LME per litre. I'd suggest a 2L starter for a standard ale, so for two starters boil 4L water and 460g LME. Cool, divide, pitch swollen smackpack between the two.

2 liters each? ......

Hmm im going to have to find two bigger starting vessells. My growlers are all used up.

You can do a litre or whatever you want, but two will give you a nice pitching rate for a good ol' 1.050 or so ale (5g, we're talking about). Any kind of step up will help, though, and if you're splitting the smack pack it's actually pretty critical since you're halving the pitching rate.

Yooper Chick said:

I've been drinking tonight, so I'm pretty blurry. But I was just looking at this:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html for someone else, and I think it'll answer your questions. You can divide the starter multiple times, once you get a large amount of yeast and then make a starter again. (Does that make sense?)

Click to expand...

Man that was suave!

Whats the reason for having to split the two up?

Couldnt you just make one 4l batch and split it in half after wards?

britishbloke said:

Whats the reason for having to split the two up?

Couldnt you just make one 4l batch and split it in half after wards?

Click to expand...

You could, but the yeast will be caked at the bottom so I would find it easier to just decant a pitch a whole 2L instead of mucking with decanting 4L, then splitting the yeast cake. Seems like greater chance of infection, as well.