How much yeast?

[voltron6]

I recently bought two 1-gallon all grain batches from my LHBS. One is a porter, the other a milk stout. The porter has an estimated OG of 1.058-1.062 and a FG of 1.015-1.017. Ill be using Safale S-04 yeast. The people at the shop say half a packet (5.75 of the 11.5 oz packet), the directions say 1 tsp, And my calculator says 2.1 oz. How much do I pitch? The stout has an OG of 1.055-1.1065, and an FG of 1.018-1.024. I'll be using Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast.

 

[tooldudetool]

Go with what the yeast calculator says.. sounds like the lhbs just tried to simplify it for you by saying half a pack.

 

[BigFloyd]

1/4 packet will do fine. 1/2 pack isn't going to hurt, especially if you sprinkle it dry into the wort.

The key with Nottingham is to keep it COOL. Upper 50's to low 60's is the sweet zone for the first 3-5 days, then you can bring it up to the mid-60's. It gets pretty funky if allowed to get above 68*F when actively fermenting.

 

[voltron6]

Should I rehydrate?

 

[BigFloyd]

Should I rehydrate?

I'm a fan of rehydration, but in the amounts that you're talking about, I'd probably just go with 1/2 a pack in each 1 gallon batch and sprinkle it into the wort. Sprinkling dry will kill some of the cells and make your pitch rate pretty close to where it should be.

 

[bja]

Go with what the yeast calculator says.. sounds like the lhbs just tried to simplify it for you by saying half a pack.

Do you realize that his calculator is telling to use 5 packs?

 

[voltron6]

My calculator is saying 2.1 oz for 1 gallon, so less than a packet if i was doing 5 gallons

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[bja]

My calculator is saying 2.1 oz for 1 gallon, so less than a packet if i was doing 5 gallons

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app

2.1 oz is 59-1/2 grams. There's 11-1/2 grams in a pack.

 

[voltron6]

2.1 oz is 59-1/2 grams. There's 11-1/2 grams in a pack.

This is why I need to proofread my posts. Its saying 2.1 hrs. My apologies

 

[solbes]

I think in this case you might be overthinking it. 1/2 pack into each 1 gallon batch will be plenty of yeast. And plenty simple :rockin:

It is probably overpitching by a tad, but I really doubt that will be noticeable as you are not looking for a lot of esters in a porter or milk stout anyway.

 

[voltron6]

I was just worried. My last 3 batches were fairly yeast.. granted they were mr beer, but still.

 

[BigFloyd]

I was just worried. My last 3 batches were fairly yeast.. granted they were mr beer, but still.

If you're getting yeasty beer, cold crash it in the primary at fridge temps 5–7 days before transferring it to prime. With one gallon batches, that ought to be pretty easy.

 

[voltron6]

So that's my fermenter. Cold crashing in the fridge may be out of the a question. The previous batches were with mr beer ingredients and yeast. I did 1 with s-04 and didnt notice any yeast flavor. Im just a little trigger shy. Thank you for all the advice, folks! !!

 

[solbes]

Although not my favorite yeast, S-04 is known for a quick ferment and flocs pretty easily. So I bet time was the reason why the S-04 was better.

If you can't cold crash, simply waiting 3-3.5 weeks in primary is usually enough time to drop a lot of the yeast. Just keep it sealed up during that time so you don't introduce O2.

BTW. I feel like having a wine party after looking at your fermenter. That thing is awesome!

 

[voltron6]

Awesome! Yeah my mom gave me it about 4 years ago for decoration. About 2 weeks ago I realized it would make an amazing fermenter for small batches. And it's free!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[voltron6]

If you're getting yeasty beer, cold crash it in the primary at fridge temps 5–7 days before transferring it to prime. With one gallon batches, that ought to be pretty easy.

Would cold crashing in the secondary work? I use 1 gallon jugs

 

[BigFloyd]

Would cold crashing in the secondary work? I use 1 gallon jugs

It would help. Why do you use a secondary?

 

[voltron6]

Clarification

 

[BigFloyd]

Clarification

If you can figure out a way to crash the primary, that will eliminate the need to use a secondary for clarity.

 

[bleme]

I get free ice so I cold crash in an ice bath. It works a lot faster than cold air does.

 

[voltron6]

So I brewed my AG BIAB stout yesterday, and it was the smoothest brew day I've had yet, which is odd because everything prior was Mr. Beer. Funny thing is as soon as I decided to bottle my last Mr. Beer batch, disaster struck and a good quart of Double Black Diamond Stout ended up on my carpet