Wyeast Propagator directly into batch?

I'm brewing a batch of Barley wine at the moment and just realized that the Wyeast Propagator that I have calls for a yeast starter. The brew will be ready for pitching in a couple of hours. Will my batch not ferment if I directly pitch the yeast?

westcoastipa said:

I'm brewing a batch of Barley wine at the moment and just realized that the Wyeast Propagator that I have calls for a yeast starter. The brew will be ready for pitching in a couple of hours. Will my batch not ferment if I directly pitch the yeast?

Click to expand...

A barley wine should have a big starter, even with an activator pack. With a propagator pack, you'd be grossly underpitching- maybe even by 10-fold. Check out this link: http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html to see the optimum amount of yeast for your batch. It says for yeast made on September 1, an ale with a 1.090 needs a 10 liter starter, or 5.3 activator packs without a starter. You can punch in your own numbers to see what is recommended for your batch.

I guess I'd run out tomorrow and buy some more yeast, since you don't have time to make a starter.

Thanks for the reply. I can hold off on my mash right now and use some of my Amber liquid malt extract to make a starter. All starter recipes that I've seen call for DME. How much of the liquid extract should I use?

westcoastipa said:

Thanks for the reply. I can hold off on my mash right now and use some of my Amber liquid malt extract to make a starter. All starter recipes that I've seen call for DME. How much of the liquid extract should I use?

Click to expand...

You want the starter to be around 1.030-1.040. So, depending on how big of a starter you need, you can use about 2/3 cup per 2 cups water. Multiply that out for a much bigger starter, of course.