So I don't have a starter for my yeast

[pat1268]

As the above states, I didn't think my wort was going to be above 1.070. What can I do? Pitch another yeast in a few days? OG is 1.099


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[WouldBeBrewmaster]

Realistically anything above 1.040-1.045 needs a starter. If you plan out your recipes on a website/app that estimates the OG of your recipe it should be pretty clear when you need to do one. It's also a good idea to have a sachet to two of dry yeast on hand if you do need it in a pinch. The cell counts I'm dry yeast are usually high enough that you do not need a starter.


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[pat1268]

So I guess I screwed then?


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[WouldBeBrewmaster]

I would pitch some dry yeast ASAP to try and salvage the beer.


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[pat1268]

I haven't pitched it yet I have a few 1056 in the fridge can I use them?


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[WouldBeBrewmaster]

If you have more than one pack you might be ok. I always use this calculator to figure out how much yeast I need http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html


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[Qhrumphf]

What was the OG supposed to be? What was the recipe, and what are the target batch volumes vs. your actual volume? If you're jumping from <1.070 to 1.099 there's something going on. A change like that doesn't just happen, and there might be a measurement error. That said, even 1.070 is much too high to not be using a starter. So if you have extra yeast definitely toss them in there.

 

[pat1268]

So after doing calculations I need another yeast . Can it wait until tomorrow?i pitched a wlp051 so I need to do the xcat same one yes?


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[pat1268]

Live and learn right?


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[Hello]

You don't need a starter ever if you want to buy multiple packages of yeast and pitch that. You're not screwed you're just going to have to pitch a lot more on brew day. I believe any site like yeastcalculator.com or mrmalty.com will tell you how many billon cells you need. Beersmith will also give you the package count. You may need 3-4 packages.

Starters omit spending gobs on yeast and allows you to take one package and build the cells up. It also creates a nice healthy environment for yeast. No starter, pitch more. One package of 1056 won't cut it.

 

[duboman]

What was the OG supposed to be? What was the recipe, and what are the target batch volumes vs. your actual volume? If you're jumping from <1.070 to 1.099 there's something going on. A change like that doesn't just happen, and there might be a measurement error. That said, even 1.070 is much too high to not be using a starter. So if you have extra yeast definitely toss them in there.

This was my thought, if this was an extract batch with top off you most likely got a bad mix and your reading is off due to a more concentrated sample of wort.

That being said, even a 1.070 gravity should've had a starter with liquid yeast


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[kh54s10]

This was my thought, if this was an extract batch with top off you most likely got a bad mix and your reading is off due to a more concentrated sample of wort.

That being said, even a 1.070 gravity should've had a starter with liquid yeast


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This ^^^

It would take a major mistake in the amount of grain, sugar or malt extract to get to 1.099 from 1.070. Many pounds....

But at 1.070 you really need more yeast.

I would get and pitch more if you can do it within a day after the initial pitch.

The purpose of a starter is to save $$ by not buying multiple packs of yeast.

The beer will likely ferment, but you will likely get off flavors underpitching by that extent.

 

[pat1268]

I pitched at 1am so I'll get another packet and pitch that as well asap


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[pat1268]

So I pitched two packets total . I checked on it the morning an found that my air lock was plugged my all the activity and,it will not stop ended up having to fabricate a stop that would go into a 5 gallon bucket. Good news is it's fermenting


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[RM-MN]

Now that you are done panicing, Gordon Strong says he pitches a single vial of yeast into his beers but he oxygenates them properly and they do just fine. As a 2 time winner of the Ninkasi award I'd say he must know what he is doing. You need the proper amount of yeast to do the job but whether you add it all in the beginning or if you use less yeast but provide the tools it needs to multiply doesn't matter too much. You will get some different flavors with each method but without training your taste you may never notice them.

 

[pat1268]

I'll take the samurai sword from my mid section! Heh it is amazing how many different opinions you can get . Thanks for the feedback next time I'll stick witha single and aerate really well


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[Barley_Bob]

I underpitched one time. Never again. I haven't tried one vial with excellent aeration, but making starters is tried and true and safe. Anyway, Gordon Strong's "proper" aeration is probably pure O2 pumped in, and, if you haven't graduated to starters yet, I'm guessing you don't have that equipment. Could be wrong.

Another thing you could have done, and that I didn't see mentioned, would have been to freeze your wort. Or even just have gotten it very very cold for a day or two. I've heard of others freezing with no consequence, and it would have given you an opportunity to build up a proper starter.

Best of luck on this one, and at least you can write this down as a learning experience.

 

[Zepth]

If fermenting is going as well as it sounds, wait it out and hope for the best. I'd leave it in the primary longer than originally expected to make sure theres as much time as possible to clean up off flavours. With that said, there are limits on what time can do.

I underpitched one time. Never again. I haven't tried one vial with excellent aeration, but making starters is tried and true and safe.

Rest assured you aren't the only one in that boat. Long story short: Me being a cheapskate and using harvested yeast without a starter (which had worked in previous batches) failed miserably and left a yeasty cloudy, estery batch. Good for marinades and gravies, that's about it. Live and learn.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Now that you are done panicing, Gordon Strong says he pitches a single vial of yeast into his beers but he oxygenates them properly and they do just fine. As a 2 time winner of the Ninkasi award I'd say he must know what he is doing. You need the proper amount of yeast to do the job but whether you add it all in the beginning or if you use less yeast but provide the tools it needs to multiply doesn't matter too much. You will get some different flavors with each method but without training your taste you may never notice them.

And then there's Jamil Zainasheff who's also a multi-time Ninkasi winner advocating starters almost without exception.

And then there's another guy who advocates even bigger starters, aerating the crap out of them, and skipping aerating/oxygenating the wort altogether. I think his position is ill-informed, but some folks listen to it (and it's been debated on here).

The industry-accepted "average" rates are 0.75 million cells per ml per degree Plato for ales and 1.5 million cells per ml per degree Plato for lagers. With a 5 gallon batch, the only way to meet those rates with a single pack/vial of yeast and no starter is if you're doing something in the 1.030s with incredibly fresh yeast (days old).

Now, those are "average" figures, and if you want more yeast character (higher esters) then a lower pitch rate is ok. If you want cleaner, then a higher pitching rate is a good idea. Aeration is another variable you can adjust. More aeration lends to cleaner, less lends to more yeast character. And if you're doing high gravity w/ no starter, I'd at least hope you're using pure O2, because air just can't do it.

But point is, sometimes I think JZ is too conservative in pitching rates (opting to pitch too much). On the other hand, I don't think Gordon Strong pitches enough. Their results may work for them, but I get the best results in between. I prefer to adjust from the average rate based on what I want.

I regularly pitch a single pack/vial without a starter, but only in small batches or session beers.