pitch calculator poll

In an attempt to reduce my grain-to-glass time I have been reading about fermentation and yeast (duh...) and am of the understanding that commercial brewers and some homebrewers are able to reduce their time by decreasing lag and having sufficient yeast to eat and fart. So who uses Mr. Malty, something else, or nothing? I've heard opinions that Mr. Malty over-estimates pitch rates but if it isn't too much yeast then wouldn't it decrease the ferm. time needed?

I've always used Mr. Malty with no complaints. The easiest way to cure the impatience of waiting to try the next bee,r is to get a big enough pipeline. What's better than trying the new brew? Having a keg blow and having another already chilled and carbed. Pure bliss.

I can't use Mr malty so I can't speak of how it works. I use brewzer and it does basically the same thing from my understanding. Either way pitching a sufficient amount of yeast will decrease lag time which in turn decreases fermentation time. However that really isn't the reason to have a proper pitch rate. Having a proper pitch rate is to not stress the yeast from having to grow which also causes off flavors in the finished beer.

Billybrewer09 said:

...... Either way pitching a sufficient amount of yeast will decrease lag time which in turn decreases fermentation time. However that really isn't the reason to have a proper pitch rate. Having a proper pitch rate is to not stress the yeast from having to grow which also causes off flavors in the finished beer.

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Yes, I agree. It's not directly about lag time, although that is part of it. The growth/reproductive phase of use is important (the lag time), but the goal of pitching the proper amount of yeast isn't to decrease the lag time. It's to decrease the yeast stress and as such to end up with a better flavor in the end product.

Thanks Yooper for expanding on the idea that I was trying to get to. I know there will always be a lag time, but you hear so many brewers talk about 48-72 hour lag times. I know that is from improper pictch rates. And since I have started making starters and using as close as I can to proper rates my lag time has decreased and my beer improved.
Sorry. To high Jack the thread

Hammy71 said:

I've always used Mr. Malty with no complaints. The easiest way to cure the impatience of waiting to try the next bee,r is to get a big enough pipeline. What's better than trying the new brew? Having a keg blow and having another already chilled and carbed. Pure bliss.

Click to expand...

+1

Right now, my brew fridge holds 4 kegs (2.5 and 3 gallon sizes). I have three taps through the door, so I have a variety to select from. Keg #4 is carbonating and waiting for a tap to be freed up. I'm also partially carbonating two more kegs outside of the brew fridge in preparation of a party in October. Those will be going into the portable kegorator I'm building. :rockin:

As for the OP... Since I've been using starters, and heeding the advise of Mr. Malty, I've had short lag times. The longest I can recall is ~24 hours. The shortest was probably Friday's batch that was in full swing in under 7 hours (the time from pitching the yeast into oxygenated wort and my brew-buddy going into his basement to check on them). I've been using a stir plate and flask setup for the past few batches and can't see ever not doing that. Starters are finished in about 24 hours and ready to be pitched. I can also make smaller starters that way, and still get the cell count I want/need.

Something else you can do to help your batch get started. Properly oxygenate the wort. I've been using a pure O2 setup for the past several batches (for several months too) and also cannot see ever not doing that method.

Using better tools to get the job done easier is what humans are all about, right??

I use my own calculator based off the formula 10MYC for an OG of 1.048. From what I have noticed is that Mr Malty is around 8.5MYC for an OG of 1.048 so I would consider it to be slightly underpitched?!?

On how to decrease lag time, I would say pitching the correct number and giving them lots of O2. Some people think that they are pitching the right amount alot depends on how fresh your starter is, I have taken to brewing my starters from slants starting about 7-9 days out and stepping them up slowly and then day of the brew decant and pitch into a warm up starter, I make this very similar to the brew and don't use a stir plate it is just to wake them up a little. My lag time is usually 6-9hrs and my fermentation time Pitch to static SG is less than 72hrs (accept some of the really big stuff). Fermentation time on my last three beers

IIPA WLP001 OG 1.112 FG 1.018 96hrs
Hefe WLP380 OG 1.054 FG 1.012 30hrs
Pumpkin Notty (from a slant) OG 1.064 FG 1.010 65hrs

Note they all spend my longer in the primary than that to let the yeast clean stuff up, I'm just talking about the basic fermentation.

Clem

So what are some ways to reduce the grain to glass time? Is quality compromised or consistency or both?

Tight temperature control can he of great help. As soon as I have room for one, I'm making/getting a fermentation chamber. Of course, I'll have to experiment with different fermentation times for different styles, but I should be able to develop some 'rules of thumb' when it comes to such a thing.

Other things that really help include use of pure O2 to oxygenate the wort to the correct ppm level needed for the batch. Pitching the correct amount of yeast (or close enough to the correct amount) also helps (part of why many use Mr. Malty to see how much we should pitch).

I would still advise using the old tried and true taste test to determine when a batch is ready for next steps.