Please bear with me here....

[BBKing]

So I finally received my Honey Bee Ale from Midwest Supplies today...as I stated in another thread I upgraded this kit to the white labs yeast so I can start messing around with liquid yeasts.

On the tube o' yeast it recommends a starter if the O.G. is over 1.070, but the kit directions dont say what the O.G. should be. Shouldnt I make a starter long before I have a clue what the O.G. is?

I get that making a starter, in the most basic terms, drops lag time, but why would I need one if the O.G. is over "x" reading?

I've used the search function, but come up with nothing, and I've even googled some but to no avail. At least no answers I can easily understand.

Someone please put this in laymens terms for me.

Thanks in advance

 

[Revvy]

Actually if you look at the yeast pitching calculator at http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html that really you should make a starter with any liquid yeast above a 1.020 starting gravity.

The issue so much isn't that in most cases, the pitchable yeast "won't work" if you pitch it without a starter, it's just that by making a starter to the larger amount mentioned in mr malty, it will simply work "better."

Making a starter first insures that your yeast is still alive and viable before you dump it in your beer. You will be less likely to start one of those "is my yeast dead?" threads that are on here every day.

You will also ensure that you have enough yeast usually the tubes and smack packs are a lot less yeast that you really should use for healthy fermentation.

Making a starter also usually means your beer will take off sooner, because the first thing that the little buggers do in the presence of wort (whether in a flask or in a fermenter) is have an orgy to reproduce enough cells to do the job...So it won't take such a long time in the fermenter since they started doing it in the flask.

Additionally it is better for the yeast to consume and reproduce incrementally rather than just dumping them into the fermenter...The yeast will be less stressed out than if you just dump them in.

Stressed out yeast can lead to a lot of off flavors...maybe even (though rare) the dreaded autolysis....Or the curse of 1.030....getting a stuck fermentation because the yeast have bit the dust.

So making a starter proves your yeast is still healthy, allows you to grow enough yeast to do the job, cuts down on lag time, and ensures that you will not get off flavors or stuck ferementations from stressed out yeast.

Is that laymensy enough for you?

 

[BBKing]

I appreciate you pointing out the calculator. Something else to consider, along with the extra general info about starters.

2 questions: Why would one need to make a starter if the O.G. is abovie a certain level? And how much yeast would you recommend to for a 5 gallon batch if the usual tubes/packs arent quite enough?

Thanks again Revvy

 

[impatient]

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html

 

[BBKing]

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html

Awesome. Plain and simple.

Thanks for the link.