Pitching 1 vs 2 smack packs into it won't do a lot for you in terms of total overall yeast in the flask. There's only so much sugar in there and if anything, you are encouraging them NOT to divide by overpitching into the starter.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=524570
My attempt documented, had to make changes due to availability and lack of gear, but i think i got nearish
Why do some people have trouble with this yeast. This yeast hates me I have had no issue with wlp500 but this one always gets stuck
Thanks for the advice. I did not realize that I can get similar yeast numbers by pitching just one pack... you, sir, just saved me some cash, which I will need after brewing this up! My 2 liter started does look like it's doing the trick, though. Had a bubble about every 6 seconds for a while. It is slowing a bit now, but I am encouraged. I'll try the 5 liter starter next time... just wonder if it is going to be easy to get this stirring well with that much volume. Hopefully this drops to the required gravity.
Thank you! This is exactly the info I need. I just bought a 5l erlenmeyer flask, and will start to use that on my 11 gallon batches. And really... even with a 5 liter starter I can just start with a single yeast smack pack, eh?
I am drooling over that yeast setup, especially the capture flask you have right there. Would you outline all the parts you got and where to buy that stuff? The only yeast I have that regularly blows out the flask is WY3787 (Westmalle, IIRC), but man I would love to capture all that krausen.
If you use the intentionally underpitched at the .75 (million cells / ml / degree plato which is what CSI is recommending for esters), you will see that your 1.5 L initial pitch was around 316 Billion cells and you needed 725 billion - twice as much. With a 4L starter, you get 675 billion cells. It's also a slight underpitch! So, with 4.5L starter, you can hit the target cell count. If you do that and control the temp, you can nail this one.
Yes, to start this clone we recommend the George Fix rate, however the Fix rate assumes high viability (98%+) so the step-up over the Fix rate is likely a compensation for lower viability, (actually not a bad idea). If creating an "ends-of-the-earth" clone where every detail is observed and krausen is used then the Fix rate will be more than enough, possibly too much. Below is a link to the chart with pre-calculated Fix rates. There is also a column for underpitching as well, (which assumes the use of 98%+ viable yeast).
Edit (using krausen is based on Stan's report of St. Sixtus using freshly harvested yeast collected from Westmalle Abbey on brew day).
http://www.candisyrup.com/uploads/6/0/3/5/6035776/pitching_rates_-_rev_1.14.pdf
Isn't that why we use the date on the vial to estimate viability? Is. Viability the same as active alive yeast cells?
If I need 100 billion cells and get an old tube that has 50% viability and make a starter to double the count I would have 50 billion dead cells and 100 billion alive cells. So the viability would be 66.7%? But I would still have the 100 billion cells needed to pitch into the wort
"There may be instances where you measure a viability of more than 90 percent in your pitch, but you still encounter a fermentation that slowly creeps along. How is this possible? It is quite possible for a pitch to measure high viability only to have a weak fermentation. Do not forget yeast can have high viability and low vitality. - Yeast, The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation pp.166-167"
At 72 Hours we have all of the yeast reproduction we'll get from this vial of Westmalle. You can see a little more density. This goes to flocc-decant then a second infusion of 10P wort to blow off some krausen for a high vitality yeast more suitable for a quad.
So are you only using the yeast from the krausen in the starter? Are you collecting the foam in the second vessel and only pitching that?
Below is the krausen capture pic only 4 hours after the 2nd 10P wort infusion. The O2 port is capped so there is no blow-back. Just a guess before measuring but we probably have 140-160 billion cells. The blow-off isn't quite done yet. This krausen can be used to create a large starter of 4-5 L of superior vitality yeast. It can also be pitched directly into a 5 gallon quad.
What is your estimated cell count per milliliter of krousen
Just an update and thank you to people on this forum. I had stalled at 1.022, and on advice here pitched a 2l active starter (couldn't get 5 liters). Bubbling started immediately in the air lock and I am now down to 1.016. Not quite where I want, but close enough. Thank you everyone!
How long has it been since your second pitch?
It's been 10 days now. NO more activity in the airlock today that i have seen. Think I'l keg it today.
It's been 10 days now. NO more activity in the airlock today that i have seen. Think I'l keg it today.
Looks like my late hops have a lot less IBUs than the posted recipe. Do I adjust the amounts to match the IBUs for the 30 minute and 15 minute addition. Or do I keep the 1 oz amounts
Second If up the batch to 10 gallons do I oxygenate for 4 minutes
We run into the same thing most of the time. IBU's are never consistent from harvest to harvest. I pro-rate the hops bill, (weight +-), based on IBU's.
With a .05 micron diffuser it's difficult to reach 10ppm O2. We have an inline diffuser and I've run it in excess of 5 minutes on 11 gallon batches without any negatives.
Looks like my late hops have a lot less IBUs than the posted recipe. Do I adjust the amounts to match the IBUs for the 30 minute and 15 minute addition. Or do I keep the 1 oz amounts
Second If up the batch to 10 gallons do I oxygenate for 4 minutes
When u run 11 gallon batches do you use 5 pounds or 6 pounds of d-180
We now use 5 lbs of D-180 per 11 gallon run. It seems to match up better with the import in this amount.
http://www.candisyrup.com/uploads/6/0/3/5/6035776/westvleteren_12_clone_-_040.pdf
So 2.5 lb for a 5.5lb batch?
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