Starter or not to Starter??????

[winvarin]

winvarin, I really appreciate your input, but I need us to speak in numbers and citations rather than "usually I do" or "i've heard."

Fermentis says that 6.9*10^10 cells (69 billion) of yeast are in an 11.5 gram pack.
http://www.fermentis.com/fo/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_S-04_HB.pdf

A reverse working of the MrMalty calculator seems to suggest they believe a pack has 2*10^11 (200 billion). What gives?

Then I am probably not your guy. I almost never do the real math on yeast cell count (the ion concentration of my brewing water is another matter entirely, but that's best left to another thread ... and another board for that matter).

I simply use mrmalty to get me in the ballpark for cell count. I plug in the type of yeast I am using, and enter the type of starter (for liquid only, I have never used a starter for dried yeast). Then I feed it the particulars on my wort and go with what Jamil's calculator says as far as starter size and/or packages of yeast.

All that being said, I got a copy of his new book, "Yeast" for Christmas. So I might delve into the math a bit more deeply for my yeast. It won't surprise me if I do.

 

[CPooley4]

Here you go manoaction (from Northern Brewer's Yeast Pitching Rates guide:

--3. WHICH BRAND OF YEAST WILL YOU USE? - Will you be using Wyeast, White Labs or dry yeast? We assume that both Wyeast and White Labs contain approximately 100 billion yeast cells and use this data for the charts below. Although definitely functional, the relatively low cost of the dry yeast dissuades us from recommending using it in a starter. Frankly, its cheaper and equally effective
just to buy more packets of it than to take the time and energy to make a starter with it

Here is a link to the guide - http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/YeastPitchingRates.pdf

I actually used this guide and a lot of information here to create a yeast pitch calculator/starter how to for my Brew Chart (see signature for link). Haven't updated the link with the yeast pitch calculator quite yet, but will be doing so soon.

cp

 

[HoppedIPA]

Question i have a started that i made the other day and added a 2nd feeding so a total of 4cups water plus nutrients and dme in the half galon growler do i let it settle and then decant off the top fluid or pitch the whole thing in? IT was a 1056Wyeast