Questions on yeast

[Wiesty]

Hey everyone,
So I will be making a few high gravity beers coming up here in the near future. A belgian triple, a IIPA, and a mead. The two ales are from a kit, and I will make a few alterations. The kits recommend their specific varieties of yeast, which I have ordered with the kits, but I am uncertain about how much yeast I will need. Some sources I am reading are leading me to believe I will need between 2 and 3 vials of Wyeast for an IIPA and similar for the tripel. Am I interpreting this wrong? If so, thats odd, because the instructions with these kits say nothing about ordering extra yeast, but I don't want to have 15 gallons of unfinished homebrew.

 

[IslandLizard]

Read up on making yeast starters. You'll need them, particularly for higher gravity beer. Even a fresh single vial or smack pack, made 2 weeks ago, is not enough to pitch in a 5 gallon batch over 1.030-1.035. And the older the yeast, the fewer viable cells, so you'll need to grow more.

Then there are oxygenation requirements and of course tight temperature control during fermentation, to prevent ending up with paint thinner.

 

[BobBailey]

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Here's a resource that is invaluable when it comes to pitching rates. If you use liquid yeast you will usually need to make a starter to increase the cell count or pitch multiple vials, depending on the OG of the beer and the age of the yeast.

It's refreshing to see someone ask an important question like yours before the fact and not after they figure out that they screwed up. Good work.

 

[Wiesty]

Interesting stuff! I had read some stuff on yeast starters, but some people have said they weren't necessary. Amazing they don't mention this in the instructions...Anyone have any good resources on making simple starters? Do you need to match the malt used in the starter with the malt in the wort?

 

[Erythro73]

They don't mention this in the instructions because you can still make a very good beer while under-pitching. Under-pitching is less than ideal, it can produce off-flavors and, especially with high-gravity beers, may sometime lead to under-attenuation. However, especially for ales, it still works and is simple enough for most people. Lagers are whole different story, though. It very much depends on your yeast, beer style (ale/lager), your gravity and how much you are under-pitching. I usually underpitch by a factor of two and never noticed anything wrong.

 

[BobBailey]

Interesting stuff! I had read some stuff on yeast starters, but some people have said they weren't necessary. Amazing they don't mention this in the instructions...Anyone have any good resources on making simple starters? Do you need to match the malt used in the starter with the malt in the wort?

Here ya go. Good info on starters.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Yeast_Starters

 

[Rjppunk]

I also add a pinch of yeast nutrient to help it along. It's a pretty easy process all in all, my last starter was done by my GF with me giving her instructions over the phone.

 

[phyllobeddo]

Once you get your calculations worked out and figure out about starters, pay close attention to what temperature that you need to ferment at (as already mentioned). I'm about to pour out almost five gallons of a Hefeweizen because it tastes like a clove bomb! I can't stand the taste. I stupidly fermented the batch at 70 degrees ambient because there was no more room in my fermentation chamber (wine fridge). Live, learn, and improve I guess.

 

[Wiesty]

Thanks for the replies! What method do people prefer for harvesting the yeast after it has multiplied? I assume if you just dump the starter wort right into your fermenter you will always need to match your extracts?

 

[aviator01]

I've always pitched the entire starter. Some say to cold crash, decant the "beer" and pitch the yeast that has settled to the bottom. The easy method is to just pitch the whole thing.

Try both methods several times and decide for yourself if if there is a "right" way.

Either way, enjoy your big beers. Especially the tripel.

 

[Rjppunk]

I let mine sit overnight in the cellar, decant most of it, swirl to get all the yeast out, and pitch. Ended up blowing the lid off my primary bucket that night, oops. People do both, you can also save some wort for starters to save some coins on DME

 

[Singletrack]

I've always pitched the entire starter. Some say to cold crash, decant the "beer" and pitch the yeast that has settled to the bottom. The easy method is to just pitch the whole thing.

Try both methods several times and decide for yourself if if there is a "right" way.

Either way, enjoy your big beers. Especially the tripel.

Yes, try both ways. When you try the decant method, taste the "beer" you're pouring off and decide if you want that in your beer. I use a stir plate, so that starter "beer" is badly oxidized. Tasting convinced me to decant.

 

[Wiesty]

Thanks dudes! What about for wine and mead yeasts? I'm assuming a juice of some sort would be needed?

 

[Rjppunk]

Never used liquids for my meads so idk. I just hydrate the dry stuff about 15-20 mins before pitching