starter vs two vials for high OG

[discoross]

Hi all,
I'll be starting an IIPA this weekend with an estimated OG of 1.080-1.086 depending on the forumlae used. I'll be pitching with WLP001/Wyeast1056 or similar. Should I go with a starter? Or just pitch two vials? I read the latter can give you a larger cell count than a starter (and is cheaper). But then why are starters recommended so much?

 

[adc123]

Starters, literally, "start" the beer. Yeast spends its first few hours in a beer multiplying. It needs to eat oxygen and sugar to produce baby yeast. After it feels a certain concentration, it then moves to ethanol production. By pitching a starter 24 hours after you start it, you are giving the yeast that "head start" they need to attack that batch of beer.

Two vials of liquid yeast will cost ALOT more in the long run, might not work as well as just one vial in a starter, and 1056 is widely available dry (safale us-05). Its cheaper because you only by a pyrex flask once, and some DME. Whenever you want a starter, you just fire up your stove with some DME + water. Simple. Dry yeast is even cheaper, and gives you plently of cells for big beers like that. The only problem ive had with dry yeast is them stalling for high grav beers. I didn't add nutrient or oxygenate the wort, my bad.

In the end, starters or dry yeast will definitely be cheaper, and may be more effective.

 

[pericles]

+1 to adc123. A starter will produce a much cleaner beer than just upping the cell count. If it didn't, white labs would just sell larger vials.

 

[warriorpoet]

Also, if you have the time you can do a '2-step' starter for that big beer. You can find out how on the Wyeast website. If you want an 8.5%+ beer, this will give you the vital amount of cells ready to eat the sugar instead of just trying to multiply. Your lag time will also be a lot quicker, possibily in just a few hours you will have fermenation happening. This happens to me with my Double's all the time...nice.