Doesn’t a huge starter affect the total volume and also dilute the OG?
Yes, i forgot to mention the decanting piece.After the starter is finished fermenting, let it sit for a day to settle out. Dump the liquid and only pitch the slurry in the bottom of the starter flask. Yes, you lose a little bit that was still in suspension.
By doing this, you also get rid of most of the off flavors generated in the starter, rather than adding it to your beer.
When do you plan to add the maple? I did A LOT of reading before brewing a maple brown ale a few months ago. Most people that added it prior to a secondary fermentation stated that they didn't get any of the flavor. I waited until primary ferm was almost complete then added the maple directly to the wort, no transfer to secondary vessel. It was perfect, subtle but noticeably present. I brew with the mentality that anything out of the ordinary should complement the base beer, not take center stage so take it for what its worth to you. Cheers!
That's what I'm thinking. After primary just rack to keg and dump the syrup in...the limited yeast that makes it into the keg should wake back up and go to work but with less yeast there should be some maple left over at the endI used robust grade b syrup, it's got a little more flavor that's not fermented off like the more pure grade a. I did nothing to sanitize, just dumped into finishing beer.
I've done plenty of big beers with a single pack of WLP001 with no issues. If the pack is a little old I just do a quick vitality starter. People make yeast out to be less robust than it actually is. Heck, I've got a barleywine that went from 1.126-1.030 in around a week using a single pack of WLP001. It's certainly not my goto for big beers, but big for me starts at 14% [emoji23]One packet for an over 1. 100 gravity is laughable. 2 or 3 would be more along the lines if pitching dry, but i see they say a starter is needed. Idk what there thinking is on that.
FWIW i just completed an imperial 1.116 with S05 finished at 1.025, i did 4 rounds of stepping up starters (1qt each) no oxygen introduced or anything fancy, just a giant pitch.
I would think a single pack is fine. Yeast will multiply on its own as long as there is a food source. Granted 2 or 3 packs will get there faster but in the end I would think it’s gonna finish about the same. Time will tell and I plan to ferm a month before a gravity read. Then keg at 60 for several months.
Enter your email address to join: