completely confused

[OHIOSTEVE]

I have been brewing for a couple years now and have made some really good beers.. some not great but drinkable ones and a couple of experiments that just were awful. I seem to have a grasp of MOST of it except the yeast pitching rates. I wash and reuse yeast , make starters etc and I have looked at the different calculators online ( yeast calc...mrmalty) but using washed yeast that has been stored for extended periods how do I know what I am starting with and how far I have to step it up to be successful? I have successfully started washed yeast that has been stored well over a year and just pitched the starter.. no step up or anything but now I realize I have been WAY underpitching the yeast. Can someone , in a plain easy ti understand dummy terms, walk me through figuring out my cell count?

 

[ngunsch]

Thanks for posting this question. I have the same one. Hopefully someone out there has the answer.

Cheers!

 

[broadbill]

The short answer is you can't really do cell counts without specialized equipment. The best you can do is pitch a known volume of yeast and have an approximate number of cells to ferment your wort.

What exactly are you looking for here?

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

You remember the old saying? "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

Turns out it counts in yeast cell counts too.

I recommend using the MrMalty calculator, which can adjust for volume, age, [assumed] viability, etc. If you have a slurry that's been sitting around a while, assume that the viability drops off with the same rate that it does for liquid yeast.

Then make a starter based on the numbers you have. You'll be close enough for government work.

 

[cheezydemon3]

I subscribe to the "Close counts" philosophy as well.

Pitching on a freash cake, I remove about 3/4 of the cake and pitch on the remaining.

Dry yeast is usually plenty in 1 packet. Liquid gets stepped up or 2 vials if I am pressed for time.

Missing pitching rates can effect a beer for sure, but will not make a good beer "Awful".

FAST Chilling and full boil (or almost full) are the most important factors to me (beyond recipe)

 

[Laszlo]

I harvest the yeast slurry after the fermentation is done. I fill up the mason jar with the thick yeast that caked at the bottom with a sanitized spoon. I attached a picture for you to see the consistency of the slurry. There is a little bit of liquid on the top. The mason jar is 8 ounces or about 240 ml. Based on mr. Maltys calculator you can figure out how much volume you need to pitch in your wort. Let's say I have 2 billion cells per ml in this slurry. For an everage beer 200 billion cells is enough. That would equate to 100 ml or a little over 3 ounces. Just about half of the jar. I don't over complicate the process but I try to be consistent with the thickness of the slurry.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Thanks!