Big belgian yeast strategy

[BigCatBrewery]

I've got some washed Belgian yeast in the fridge that I was planning on using for my belgian dark strong, but pitch and forget seemed to assume too much.

What I assume is that my previous whit acted like a giant starter, which will provide plenty of happy yeast cells for fermentation. But then I started thinking: I could make a starter with half, pitch that, make a starter with remaining half, and pitch that ater to finish off the fermentation. Thoughts?

 

[Worticia]

You should not plan to pitch twice. A second pitch is done as a band aid when fermentation gets stuck.

Plan to pitch lots of yeast so it can do its job as quickly as possible.

 

[Bullphysics]

Agreed...pitch big to start! Depending on your starting conditions (O.G., aeration, batch size, etc.) you should increase your yeast population beyond the vial or smack pack.

 

[BigCatBrewery]

I've got what probably amounts to 4-5x a vial/smackpack in my washed yeast stash. But part of me wanted to also do a starter, hence the blossoming of ideas. Every time I've used my washed yeasts I've experienced quick and vigorous fermentation, so I should probably take the experiential knowledge and just pitch the lot.

Thanks for killing the good idea fairy. She can sneak up on me sometimes.

 

[Bullphysics]

Not a bad idea! I'm all about maximizing my yeast stash too 4-5x a vial or smack pack puts you in a good position. Depending on how long its been in the fridge (<2 wks), you may be able to get away with pitch and forget with half the washed yeast. But, you're not really going to accomplish anything by pitching the other half later in hopes that it will attenuate the beer further. If you come to that cross road, as a last ditch effort it is best to pitch a strain that has higher attenuation and/ or alcohol tolerance, e.g. WLP007, WLP099, etc.

 

[Calder]

Although it may seem like a good idea, a second pitch could hurt the beer. The initial pitch of yeast will have used up the O2, and consumed most if not all the available sugars. The second pitch will introduce some O2 and without any activity will stale the beer. You are also pitching old yeast into a finished beer, so they will not do anything except die relatively quickly.

A Belgian, you probably don't want to over-pitch. Maybe use about half of what you have on hand. You want the yeast to create flavors, and you want the yeast to reproduce (so a large population of fresh yeast does most of the work); over-pitching, and you reduce both of these.

 

[BigJack]

I like to brew a real simple Belgian-style session ale first and then ferment the big beer on the cake.

 

[BigCatBrewery]

I realized I never closed the thread on this. I did indeed pitch all of the saved yeast at once, and boy was that yeast happy. The blowoff tube sounded like a two-stroke engine, and by the time it was all said and done, my alcohol calcs estimate my beer is somewhere around the 12% mark. That yeast ate everything. It was a wonderful beer, but it lasted a while on the keg because it's hard to kick a beer that kicks back.

 

[Manzier]

I believe in significantly under pitching Belgian beers. I believe this view is also referenced in BLAM. the more the cells bud, the more the cell walls are scarred and the more they leak their juicy esters.

Also agree about the beer kicking back. It's dangerous to have on tap near you.

I just looked it up. Westmalle pitch at 0.25 M/mL/P.

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