Should I use double yeast?

[TheLodger]

So I found a recipe for Great Divide's Yeti Stout, the gravity is really damn high, should I pitch two things of yeast?

The recipe call for Wy'east's Imperial, but the closest I could find for the style from my LHBS was Irish Ale. Maybe I should double that?


Thoughts?

 

[Netflyer]

I use Irish Ale Wyeast and it is a really nice variety, imho. I've used it for stouts and high gravity, well relatively high, porters. Wyeast rec. should be followed, imo, use two activator packages if the gravity is greater than 1.060ish and 3 if over 1.080ish. Go to their site to see the exact gravities... but also you can make a starter and be fine with one activator if you make a large enough starter. I just put up a 1.075 with some Wyeast 1056 using a 1L starter and it fired up in about 5 hours after pitching. Bottom line, if you have two packs and don't want to make a starter pitch both, if Yeti is over 1.080 consider a third.

:cheers:

 

[maida7]

I suggest you use one pack of liquid yeast to make and make a starter.

Check the calculator on mrmalty.com to what size starter you need.

 

[damdaman]

I agree with netflyer, over 1.060 = 2 packets, over 1.080 = 3 packets. I've done this instead of making a starter successfully. It's more expensive than making a starter, but also much easier.

 

[maida7]

At 7.00 per yeast pack that's very expensive.

 

[Netflyer]

Absolutely, and for under 60 bucks you can get a complete stirplate and starter flask and stuff. That pays for itself very quickly esp. if you are making higher gravity brews. Yes, 2 and gasp, even 3 Wyeasts really do up the price.

 

[maida7]

Back to the OP: Consider using 2 packs of US05 dry yeast. The dry yeast is way cheaper then liquid. You could get both packs for the price of one liquid pack. 2 packs of that dry yeast will probably be the perfect amount for a high gravity ale like yeti. No starters are needed with dry yeast.

A stirplate is a very good investment for anybody using liquid yeast. If your using liquid yeast you really need to make starters. The stirplate will be very helpful in getting your starter into a manageable size. I built my own stirplate with some used computer parts and an old cell phone charger. Total cost was under 10.00. The flasks are great but any bottle can be used to make a starter. 1/2 gallon growlers are a great size and they come with beer included when you buy one Making starters will take the quality of your beer to a whole new level.

 

[Netflyer]

So with dry yeast it doesn't benefit to make a starter? What just rehydrate and there are enough cells/ml? You can't increase them like with a liquid starter?

 

[maida7]

So with dry yeast it doesn't benefit to make a starter? What just rehydrate and there are enough cells/ml? You can't increase them like with a liquid starter?

Yeah, It's not effective to make starters for dry yeast. If you need more then one pack get 2 cause they are fairly cheap. One 11.5 gram pack will ferment a standard 5.25 gallon batch up to 1.060 SG. 2 packs will ferment up to 1.120 SG. That covers most any high gravity beers. After that your gonna have problems with the alcohol anyways and may need to re-pitch later in the ferment for attenuation or bottling, etc...

Dry = no starter
Liquid = always a starter

One last thing: always rehydrate you dry yeast properly for full effectiveness. And with either dry or liquid freshness is important. Especially with liquid which has a relatively short shelf life.