Storing activated partial(half) wyeast packet

[gforty]

Hello all,
I am new to homebrewing. I started with small batch (1 gallon) kit along with pre-made kits(these come with muntons dry yeast packet). Recently I went to my local HB store and purchased a wyeast belgian abbey smack packet so that I can make an Abbey ale recipe. I read many posts related to this same question that I am proposing but none seemed to be what I propose to try.
The wyeast is for 5 gallon brewing so my idea is to use half of this packet today and the other half next weekend on a belgian IPA.
Here is my idea and please feel free to chime in as to whether this is good or not good.
Currently boiling my wort. 2 hours ago I crushed the smack packet and it is slowly beginning to expand. After I finish my boil I will cool wort to 70 degrees. Once this is done I will take @ a quarter of a cup of this wort and add it to a sanitized(maybe sterilized as well by boiling) ball canning jar. I will pitch half the yeast into my cooled wort in the fermenter and the the other half I will pour into the ball jar that contains the 1/4 cup of cooled wort and then immediately put the metal canning jar lid on and put it into the coldest section of my refrigerator. Next weekend I will use it for the belgian IPA I mentioned above.
I realize sterility is the utmost of importance here.
How does this sound?
Thanks in advance!

 

[WoodlandBrew]

That sounds okay, except that it is best to store yeast without any nutrient. You want them to sleep until you are ready to use them. Instead of boiled wort use boiled water.

 

[IslandLizard]

+1 ^

I'm confused. What size is your current boil? 1 gallon? If so, that half pack of yeast is fine, perhaps a little much but that is still OK.
If it's 2.5 gallon, half pack may not be enough. But it depends on the OG of the wort you pitch it into.

Mr. Malty

Even if you under pitch a bit, it will still be OK, although it may take a while for fermentation to take off. Stressing the yeast a bit by (slightly) under pitching will produce more esters, which is good for most Belgian beers.

But if you grossly under pitch, there may not be enough yeast to start fermentation at all.

For clarification, a Wyeast pack, or White Labs vial, does not contain enough yeast cells to start a healthy 5 gallon fermentation. We usually make a starter which grows the yeast to a larger volume, and pitch that slurry.

 

[gforty]

Thanks to all that have replied. I am almost done with the boil.....should be down to around 1.25 gallon to put into the primary fermenter(2 gallon bucket) for a week then into the secondary(1 gallon glass carboy) for another week. I suspect I should split this into thirds but this is my delve into yeast other than muntons dry yeast.
Thanks again.

 

[IslandLizard]

1.25 gallons of 1.050 is about the perfect amount for half a pack. Good luck!

Mr. Malty is a bit pessimistic when it comes to estimating live yeast cells, like a worse case scenario. It errs on the low side. That way it is unlikely you underpitch.

Oh, and forget about the secondary, just leave it in your bucket for 2-3 weeks and keep it closed to trap the CO2. The yeast needs to do some cleanup and racking it off diminishes the yeast count drastically. You would be pulling the rug from underneath, so to speak.

 

[gforty]

Thanks again.

With regard to the secondary fermeter...I will try keeping it in the primary...one less step for me. I bought this kit from a popular online store, it came with a 2 gallon bucket and the 1 gallon glass jug. I may try using that 1 gallon for another batch tonight. Perhaps I will just pick up another 2 gallon bucket from lowes, the buckets are so much easier.
I need to learn this yeast mystery....growing my own yeast sounds like fun.

Prost!

 

[IslandLizard]

Thanks again.

With regard to the secondary fermeter...I will try keeping it in the primary...one less step for me. I bought this kit from a popular online store, it came with a 2 gallon bucket and the 1 gallon glass jug. I may try using that 1 gallon for another batch tonight. Perhaps I will just pick up another 2 gallon bucket from lowes, the buckets are so much easier.
I need to learn this yeast mystery....growing my own yeast sounds like fun.

Prost!

You're catching on quickly.
Keep reading about brewing on this and other forums and you will brew like a monk pretty soon.

Make sure the buckets are food grade. For that they must be white, but not all white buckets are.

Yeah, yeast starters and propagation are fun. Just use utter sanitation, and sometimes sterilization is needed.

For all the work you put into brewing you may want to scale up to 2.5 (or 5) gallon batches. The reward is a whole case (or 2) of beer.