I'm planning a helles shortly, and started up a pack of WLP-833. However, for sh!ts & giggles i also took an old pack of OYL-114 (Bayern) and did a 1L starter with that - really as hail mary to see if anything was still alive. I've wanted to use this strain for a helles but never got around to it, so i figured a starter to see if it would do anything wouldn't set me back.
The OYL-114 pack was manufactured in Feb (7 months old) and every pitch rate calculator says there's 0% viability, but the 1L starter (stirplate) I made two days ago clearly shows signs of a typical lager starter activity. I plan to step up this starter again to 2L once this current starter fermentation dies down.
Despite the theoretical 0% viability, do you think this final 2L starter would be viable to ferment a 1.055 helles after these two step-ups? Or should I play it safe and use the WLP-833?
The OYL-114 pack was manufactured in Feb (7 months old) and every pitch rate calculator says there's 0% viability, but the 1L starter (stirplate) I made two days ago clearly shows signs of a typical lager starter activity. I plan to step up this starter again to 2L once this current starter fermentation dies down.
Despite the theoretical 0% viability, do you think this final 2L starter would be viable to ferment a 1.055 helles after these two step-ups? Or should I play it safe and use the WLP-833?