I have been searching this site and can't seem to find a definitive answer to my question. I am planning on using washed yeast from a 1.070 batch and use it for a starter, my question is how much of the yeast do I use in a one liter starter? I went to Mr. Malty's site and punched in 1.040, .25 gallon at the default settings in the pitching form slurry option, the results were 8 billion cells and 4 ml of yeast. Does that sound right? The reason I ask is when I tried to search this site I got numbers anywhere from 7 ml to 50 ml, no were near 4 ml. What ever number I use, can I assume 1g of yeast = 1ml?
Starter With Washed Yeast?
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Coff
Well-Known Member
I think youre using the calculator wrong, I understand what youre doing but I use it a little differently. When I repitch from slurry I use the slurry tab to approximate how many ml of slurry get me roughly 100 billion cells, which is ~ the amount in a vial or smack pack. Then I calculate how big of a starter I am going to need for my upcoming batch and use the #ml I figured from the the slurry tab.
For example.
slurry harvested from 7/31/12 90% viability
a 1.052 SG 5.25 gallon batch needs 191 billion yeast cells which equals 101 ml of slurry.
Now thats just if youre repitching the slurry and not using a starter. I would then say ok 50ml of slurry is ~100billion cells so thats what I would need for my starter.
Hopefully Im explaining my process well.
For example.
slurry harvested from 7/31/12 90% viability
a 1.052 SG 5.25 gallon batch needs 191 billion yeast cells which equals 101 ml of slurry.
Now thats just if youre repitching the slurry and not using a starter. I would then say ok 50ml of slurry is ~100billion cells so thats what I would need for my starter.
Hopefully Im explaining my process well.
What's the reason to start with 100b cells if you have more? Just 'cuz that's what Wyeast puts in a package?
Coff
Well-Known Member
Thats just how I do it, my only reasoning is because it usually takes me 2 jars of washed yeast to get 50ml of slurry so I dont usually have more. 50ml is what I always use for every starter Ive done with washed yeast when its less than 1 month old. This is just how Ive wrapped my head around it is all.
You need to put in your batch size, not your starter size. For a 5 gallon batch you'd need 240 billion cells.
Just wondering why you would want to make a starter from slurry. If you are using slurry from primary there should be plenty for a big beer, even if it has a lot of trub in it.
After racking off of the yeast cake, I swirl and dump the slurry into a 200 ml sanitized flask, cover with sanitized foil and refrigerate. Once it separates(a few hours to overnight) I pour off the beer and excess slurry, leaving the amount of slurry calculated using mr malty.
If the slurry has been stored for some time the viability would be lower and a starter might be needed.
Also, if you're using slurry from secondary there might not be enough yeast for a bigger beer. Several years ago the buzz was that yeast from primary was healthier than that from secondary. So many other things from a few years ago have been proven to be untrue that I wouldn't know if this is true or not.
Hopefully, your post will bring out some interesting information on the subject.
Bob
After racking off of the yeast cake, I swirl and dump the slurry into a 200 ml sanitized flask, cover with sanitized foil and refrigerate. Once it separates(a few hours to overnight) I pour off the beer and excess slurry, leaving the amount of slurry calculated using mr malty.
If the slurry has been stored for some time the viability would be lower and a starter might be needed.
Also, if you're using slurry from secondary there might not be enough yeast for a bigger beer. Several years ago the buzz was that yeast from primary was healthier than that from secondary. So many other things from a few years ago have been proven to be untrue that I wouldn't know if this is true or not.
Hopefully, your post will bring out some interesting information on the subject.
Bob
Bob, I want to make a starter because I washed the yeast to get as much of the impurities out. I then split the washed yeast into multiple jars so when I need them I could make a starter and save the rest for other batches. That is why I am trying to find out how much of the washed yeast I need to make a 1 liter starter, I assume it is different volume than just pitching the whole 2 liters you pitch. I am concerned of over/under pitching the starter. In a normal starter you pitch one vial or smack pack which I have read contains approximately 100 billions cells, so I have to gestimate how much washed yeast I need. I went to Mr Malty and the numbers as you can seen in my original post don't seem right.
First, figure out how many live yeast you have on Mr Malty.
1. Go to Repitching from slurry tab. Set your yeast concentration to 2.5 and your non-yeast to 10%. Put in your viability (by putting in your harvest date). It will give you two numbers: yeast cells needed and # mLs yeast needed and concentration. Divide first by the second to give you viable cells/mL
2. Multiply the actual volume of yeast you have (estimated by looking at settled yeast in your jar) times the viable cells/mL you just calculated. This gives you total viable cells.
3. Go to Yeastcalc.com and put in your starter method (shaking, stir plate, etc.), input how many billion cells you have, batch size, OG, etc. and see how large of a starter you need.
4. ...
5. Profit.
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