FTABS
Member
Hi All,
Thanks for taking the time to check out this thread, I love this forum!
I'm working on my third home brew batch, so I'm still a newbie. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on, and loving every minute of it.
The first two batches that I did (and now my third), were True Brew kits (extract & specialty grains), which I bought mainly for the convenience and to get my feet wet. The first batch was the IPA, and the second was the Irish Stout. Also, both of the first two kits came with Muntons Ale yeast (6g pack). I didn't have any problems with fermentation, both were vigorous; but the FG only got down to 1.020 and 1.018 for both after 2+ weeks in the primary. (I'm leaving my brews in the primary for now, haven't had any reason to rack to secondary yet.)
After reading some of the general opinions on Muntons dry ale yeast here, I'll most likely stay away in the future.
The third batch that's upcoming is the True Brew Double IPA, after which I'll probably start just buying extract/materials individually since I'm getting more comfortable.
This Double IPA is billed as having an OG of 1.069 -1.073, so it's a bigger beer.
My current dilemma (aside from deciding how I want to work my boil gravity and hop additions), is deciding how much yeast to add to this guy.
Luckily, the Double IPA came with a 11.5g pack of Safale US-05, so I'm starting with a better yeast. My problem now is that I'm torn over how much to use, as I can easily pick up some more of the same yeast at my LHBS:
I'm not sure how the Mr Malty calculator is coming up with those numbers, and by the other guidelines that I can find, I'd have to use three 11.5g packs of US-05 to get to ~210 billion cells to even be close to a safe range.
Overall, I just want to make sure that I pitch enough quality yeast to ensure that I get the job done, and I want to make sure I'm doing it right. I really have high hopes for this batch, and I'm really looking forward to any opinions/tips/thoughts anyone might have.
Thanks all, cheers!
Thanks for taking the time to check out this thread, I love this forum!
I'm working on my third home brew batch, so I'm still a newbie. I've been reading everything I can get my hands on, and loving every minute of it.
The first two batches that I did (and now my third), were True Brew kits (extract & specialty grains), which I bought mainly for the convenience and to get my feet wet. The first batch was the IPA, and the second was the Irish Stout. Also, both of the first two kits came with Muntons Ale yeast (6g pack). I didn't have any problems with fermentation, both were vigorous; but the FG only got down to 1.020 and 1.018 for both after 2+ weeks in the primary. (I'm leaving my brews in the primary for now, haven't had any reason to rack to secondary yet.)
After reading some of the general opinions on Muntons dry ale yeast here, I'll most likely stay away in the future.
The third batch that's upcoming is the True Brew Double IPA, after which I'll probably start just buying extract/materials individually since I'm getting more comfortable.
This Double IPA is billed as having an OG of 1.069 -1.073, so it's a bigger beer.
My current dilemma (aside from deciding how I want to work my boil gravity and hop additions), is deciding how much yeast to add to this guy.
Luckily, the Double IPA came with a 11.5g pack of Safale US-05, so I'm starting with a better yeast. My problem now is that I'm torn over how much to use, as I can easily pick up some more of the same yeast at my LHBS:
- Of Course, the True Brew instructions say to use 1 packet of yeast, though those instructions are practically useless anyway.
- Palmer's general Ale pitching rates are 170-225 billion for 5 gallons at 1.065-1.075, and he also states that, in general, dry yeast packs contain about 6 billion cells per gram.
- The Mr Malty calculator says to use ~260 billion cells for 5.25 gallons at 1.073, or 1.3 11.5g dry yeast packs.
- The Fermentis Product Guideline PDF for US-05 says that the Viable cells at packaging: 6 billion per gram, which equals about 69 billion per 11.5g by my calculations.
I'm not sure how the Mr Malty calculator is coming up with those numbers, and by the other guidelines that I can find, I'd have to use three 11.5g packs of US-05 to get to ~210 billion cells to even be close to a safe range.
Overall, I just want to make sure that I pitch enough quality yeast to ensure that I get the job done, and I want to make sure I'm doing it right. I really have high hopes for this batch, and I'm really looking forward to any opinions/tips/thoughts anyone might have.
Thanks all, cheers!