Unwashed Slurry

[Abrayton]

Do I get a prize for bring the 1 millionth person to post on this topic?!

I'm brewing a Tripel using harvested WLP530. Expecting OG around 1.080 unless my efficiency improves significantly, in which case I could end up with a much bigger beer than anticipated.

I harvested uncleaned slurry from a previous batch. It's about one month old. My plan is to use one jar of about 400 compacted ml and utilize a vitality starter. I'm estimating 1 billion cells per ml. I've checked Mr Malty, and no I don't have a microscope.

This estimate puts me pretty close to the recommended pitching rate, or so I think. Looking for advice from those who use unwashed cake. I have two more jars of 300 and 200 ml that I could pitch as well. Seeing as this is a yeast prominent beer, I probably don't want to significantly over pitch, but I also don't want to significantly underpitch a big beer.
Thanks for any advice

 

[potseeslc]

To be honest you should be fine. If you want to know what I would do, I would brew a low gravity beer with that yeast them pitch the Tripel right on the yeast cake. You should have 0 issues with pitch rate.

 

[hottpeper13]

At a month old a vitality starter is what I do. So I would take 200ml packed and put it on 1qt of starter in a 2l flask on a stir plate,one day before brewday. After the wort has boiled for 10 min,I pull ~ 1qt chill and pitch on the starter,off the stir plate and at fermenting temp. Then just dump all in the fermenter. My 1.110 RIS's get to 1.016 and blow off like crazy. You need to compensate for the volume,but with my bir beers they might sit in secondary for 6 mo. so I like to have enough to get to the bottom of the neck.

 

[Abrayton]

I am planning to use the 500ml, 4 hour vitality starter method described in the Brulosophy experiment linked below.

http://brulosophy.com/2015/06/29/ye...e-cell-count-vs-vitality-exbeeriment-results/

To note, the "sloppy slurry" I am using is from a Belgian Blonde with a very similar grainbill and hop as the Tripel I'm brewing tonight.

 

[Abrayton]

Ended up pitching the vitality starter as planned. Fermentation took off within a few hours. Good thing I had a blowoff tube on. After one week I switched the tube for an airlock. Fermentation is still going bananas! I've never had a primary last this long. Usually visible signs are done in a couple of days.