Starter

[KUBrewer]

Hi, doing a 5 gal of English ESB on Friday with Wyeast 1068.
Using a handy dandy yeast calc from itunes, it says I need 200 bill cells and I only got one packet of 100 bill. I'm assuming I need a starter which have never done.
Problem is, got two brew shops in town, one never has anything on shelf, the other is down for two weeks (vacation ??)
I gotta get what I need from somewhere to have yeast ready to go Friday.
Since cant buy DME and nutrient locally right now, exactly what should I order online to get this going and done by Friday.

 

[solbes]

No LME on the shelf for the other brew shop? DME is usually preferred because it stores longer, but LME would work also. Can be stored in the fridge to delay staling, but not for very long once it has been opened.

You could rush ship DME, but thats going to be one expensive starter. Or regular ship it and delay your brew day. I would plan on 1.5-2 days if you are not going to crash/decant off the starter beer (pitching an entire 1 L starter). If you are going to crash/decant off the starter beer and pitch only the yeast on the bottom, give yourself at least 1.5 extra days to drop the yeast in the fridge. Either way keep your starter vessel only loosely covered so you get some O2 in there and shake it every time you walk by (poor mans stirring plate).

Cheers on making your first starter, a very important step in brewing!

 

[KUBrewer]

Thanks for reply, just bought another packet of same yeast from a brew shop 30 miles away. Now have close to 200 bill cells so should be OK. Hate having to delay a brew day. Figured it was easier than trying a starter this time.

 

[YeastMode]

Does the LHBS have some 2 row? while not as easy as using extract, I bet you can make a quick low OG wort with some 2 row using stuff you already have in your kitchen (pots, strainers, etc.).

EDIT: I just watched the video for the first time, looks like a BIAB method, which is obviously fine, but for such a small batch, I would probably just pass the grains over a strainer and you would be just as well off. Sparge over the grains in the strainer, boil and cool....good to go.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnX_B48L4O8[/ame]