Combining bottle sediment starter and Wyeast

[SparginGrain]

I'm really trying to brew this Sunday and can't make it out to my LHBS until then. I was planning on building up a starter from previous homebrews' bottle sediment, which were made with a starter of Wyeast 1056 American Ale, but Brew Day snuck up on me and now there's no way I can get the starter healthy enough for a 5gal batch.

I'm planning on grabbing the yeast out of 4 bottles of homebrew tonight and making a starter that should ferment at least once before Sunday. Assuming I know how to build up a starter correctly, could I combine this second generation 1056 with a first generation straight from the packet?

 

[Skyforger]

Sure you could. It would add some yeast. But dry yeast packets usually have enough yeast cells to start a fermentation just fine without the help; I think if you can't make a proper starter, just pitch the packet of dry yeast.

 

[Golddiggie]

What's the OG of the brew you're planning on making this weekend?

Chances are, you can just use the smack pack of 1056 and let it ride... My first brew had an OG of 1.070, and I used a packet of 1056, just pitched directly into the chilled wort (I didn't break the nutrient pack inside the smack pack the first two times I used the smack pack). Took a little longer to go post-lag phase, but came out just fine. Was a slow, but steady, fermentation on that one.

At this point, I'm actually washing yeast, so I don't even have to think about bottle harvesting anything... Having doses in jars, inside the fridge, means I just need to make a starter, and make sure the yeast is still alive, a day (or two) ahead of brew day.