Dry yeast and big beer

[badnaam]

I am planning to brew Pliny the elder (Double IPA) and I have two 11.5 gms of dry yeast (1 billion cells/pack). I generally hydrate and proof the yeast before pitching, but considering this is a big beer....

1 - Do I need to do a starter?

2 - What is the best way to do a starter with dry yeast?

3 - The targetted OG is around 1.07-1.08. I am using US-05, is that ok or do I need us-56?

4 - Shall i use both packs i.e. 11.5*2 = 23 gms. How much yeast is too much?

Help appreciated.

 

[the_bird]

1. No starter for dry yeast.
2. No starter for dry yeast.
3. US-05 *IS* US-56 (they had to change the name recently, lawsuit)
4. Sure, why not? 2 packs won't be overpitching, and it's cheap enough

 

[Kayos]

The bird is the man and I would never outwardly disagree with him. I rehydrate my dry yeast in warm water in a sanitized glass jar with celophane over it while I brew. After that hour, it seems to take off a little faster and if it is a big beer the yeasties can multiply quicker. I think with 2 packs you have no worries, though.

 

[the_bird]

There are some technical reasons to not do a starter with dry yeast, but I'm not that smart

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm quite confident that a single pack of properly rehydrated dry yeast will do just fine in a 5 gallon batch under 1.1 OG as long as you have a decent O2 level. If you're doing a full boil and don't have an O2 system, rehydrate and pitch both packs and you'll have a very short lag time.

 

[seyahmit]

I agree with Bobby, one 11.5 gm pack of re-hydrated yeast will do with a good dose of pure O2. Otherwise, over-pitching will be better than under-pitching.