Do I have enough yeast?

[rtbrews]

I am going to be making my second batch with a liquid yeast today and just want to be sure I have enough for a good fermentation since I was not very successful last time.

I purchased a tube of the White Labs WLP001 California Ale yeast and pitched it to a starter wort yesterday. The directions say that the yeast can be pitched directly into a 5 gallon batch as long as the OG is less than 1.070, but my estimated OG is 1.075 so I made the starter.

I know this should be sufficient, but the first time I made a yeast starter I saw a lot more yeast on the bottom of my starter jar so I am a bit uncertain if this will suffice or if I should try building the count more. I would normally just add more wort and give it another day, but I don't have time to brew the rest of the week.

So my questions are : Is my starter maybe just not ready to be pitched? If not, should I buy another tube of the yeast and pitch that as well to be safe? I don't mind spending the extra $7 if it will be helpful.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

You should ALWAYS make a starter with liquid yeast. Unless you're doing a beer around 1.040 or less, you'll usually need a starter and it'll always help even if you don't need it.

24 hours isn't a lot of time for a starter, but it's better than nothing. I would just pitch the entire starter instead of decanting. This way you'll get all the yeast that's in suspension too.

 

[jsullivan02130]

"24 hours isn't a lot of time for a starter, but it's better than nothing."



What is the source of this information? My understanding is that yeast finishes with the small amount of wort in a starter in that time period. If you can cite a source for your information, let us know. I think you're wrong. Twenty-four hours is plenty of time for a starter, ideal really.

 

[rtbrews]

So would you recommend getting another vial of the yeast or am I easily safe with just the starter I have already?

 

[danielinva]

How large was your starter? I imagine you would be fine with what you have and wouldn't recommend an extra vial, but here's a pitching rate calculator if you want to take a look. If you made a much smaller starter than recommended you could always add some fresh starter wort and pitch about 6-8 hours later. This sort of gives the yeast a running start.

But again, what you have now will most likely get the job done, just maybe with longer lag time.

 

[rtbrews]

it was a fairly small starter - 3/4 quart with a cup of DME. I guess I am a bit unclear on how to use the pitching rate calculator.

It recommends that I have a 3.21 quart starter. How do I know how much DME I should be putting in? Should I use whatever I need to make the starter's OG the same as what the OG of my batch will be?

 

[danielinva]

Here's a good resource (actually still from mr. malty) on yeast starter essentials. Basically you want somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 ounces of dme per quart of starter. Or 1g per 10ml if you would rather go metric.

Oh, and there's a drop down box on the pitch rate calculator. If you select intermittent shaking, which just means giving the starter a good shake every once and a while, you'll probably find you don't need quite as large a starter.

 

[Shepherd5]

Make it simple:

1 cup DME with 1 Quart water. I just made a starter using the same yeast for my Pliny Clone, ramped it up after 24 hrs with another batch of water and DME for a total of 2 quarts for a starter, pitched it, and still fermenting strong aftter three days. My OG was 1.079.

BTW, I don't have metric measuring cups, and frankly don't care for the metric system. If I grew up with it, things would be different, but our old standard is best for me.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

"24 hours isn't a lot of time for a starter, but it's better than nothing."



What is the source of this information? My understanding is that yeast finishes with the small amount of wort in a starter in that time period. If you can cite a source for your information, let us know. I think you're wrong. Twenty-four hours is plenty of time for a starter, ideal really.

My source is experience, and the fact that everyone does things differently. I allow mine to ferment for 2 days, chill, and decant. If you're pitching while the starter is at high krausen, then 24 hours is fine. High krausen on a typical starter is between 12-18 hours. BUT...this all depends on how the starter was made. As the OP says above, he needs a 3.21 qt. starter. Now...I would personally step this up and it would take multiple days. Since the OP didn't ask about stepping up, I assumed he made the entire 3.21 qt. starter which will take longer to ferment than a typical 1qt. starter.

Your "understanding" of yeast and what they actually do will vary from batch to batch. It all depends on conditions...and everyone's are different.

 

[Brewham]

I did a California Ale today and used 2 of the Whitelab 001 vials (at $7.99 each - ouch!) We'll see what happens. My instinct told me to build a starter but I was in a hurry (WARNING #1 - trust common sense). We'll see how it turns out

Next time I plan to pitch a starter. I was at the Blue Gray Brewery in Fredericksburg VA yesterday and they started their starter for a wit 4 days before brewday. It was bubbling away and the brewmeister opined he would not bother to aerate it with O2 because it was already ready. Bubbling meant it had already multiplied and built up its cell walls and now was ready to go to war. Yeast does not produce CO2 until it is done getting bulked up.

Imagine a huge mass of aggressive hungry over-sexed he-man yeasties just chomping at the chance to devour that sugar. By contrast we pitch a small crowd of 4F nerds (who aren't at puberty and haven't had a chance to bulk up) and wonder why we get infections and stuck fermentations.

I look at like the lawn. If the weeds have a chance to grow they will. If the grass is healthy and thick, there is no room for weeds. A big pitch leaves no room for intruders.

I am Mr Easy - but this is a point worth making - make big pitches

 

[cjp9]

As an admitted amateur, I pitched only one pack of Pacman to a 5 gallon batch of imperial IPA OG 1.080. By calculator, I should've had close to 3 packets, and didn't have time for a starter. It took off beautifully after 24 hours, and went strong for three solid days. It's still rolling nicely, but I'm worried about going through that much carbohydrate. Would it be advisable to pitch additional yeast 4 days after primary has started? Will there be enough sterols/carbs in the beer to support another dose of yeast? I would love some advice on whether another packet or two would work. Thanks.

 

[danielinva]

Pacman being the beast that it is, I would just let it keep rolling along without any additional help.