White Labs yeast & small batch brewing

[AZBeer]

Hey all,

I am looking to get 2017 going with some brewing...of course. I have a bunch of stuff coming, equip & ingredients, and one of the things I am going to try out is some liquid yeast vials vs dry yeast.

Got a couple of questions.

How do I determine how much to pitch?
Do I need a starter?

Most online calculators say I don't need to do a starter...but most say I should do a start for better beer.

First brew on deck is a 1.25 gal IPA with an OG of 1.070 using WLP0001. Any tips or thoughts appreciated.

 

[GPP33]

You can get away without a starter and it'll probably be just fine. I wouldn't go anywhere north of 1.07 without a starter though. The beer will be better with a starter but it's not absolutely necessary. I made a lot of great beer before I started making starters. IMO ferm temp control is more important.

 

[schematix]

I'd do a starter even if it doesn't say you NEED to. Even a small 1L starter will help to wake the yeast up and get them ready to go. Then we also won't see you here posting "it's been 2 days and there's no airlock activity - should i repitch?". Cheap and easy insurance.

 

[GPP33]

I just noticed you are only doing a 1.25 gallon batch. 1 liquid pack would be more than enough. If you make a starter you'll significantly dilute your good beer with yucky starter beer, even if you decant. It's not a big deal in a 5 gal batch but you'll probably be able to notice it in a 1.25 gallon batch. Not to mention you are already over pitching with a single liquid pack, a starter would be WAY over pitching. Google over pitching, apparently it can be as bad as under pitching if done to extremes.

 

[d3track]

At just over a gallon the pure pitch should be more than adequate. Batch size is a very important variable in pitch rates.

 

[Sadu]

I find that 1 gallon batches just aren't economic if you are buying liquid yeast each time. For me my cost per 1g batch is about $6 for an IPA plus $18 for liquid yeast (NZD, not USD). Personally I would always overbuild a starter in this situation so I can get more than one batch out of it.

 

[MVKTR2]

What d3track said!

My general rules for pitch-rates are:
A - 1.055 or below 5.5 gallon batches are good with one dry yeast packet properly hydrated. 1.055 - 1.075 wort gets 1.5 packs while beers above 1.075 gets 2 packs.
B - I always do a starter with liquid yeast when doing 5.5 gallon batches because yeast vitality is so negatively affected by shipping, even to the lhbs. However for small batch beers I trust 1 pure pitch packet up to 1.100 without a starter. Even at 1.100 that translates into a 1.020 wort for a 5 gallon batch. It's not fully scalable per this example due to higher stresses on the yeast in higher gravity wort but the example makes the point. You're golden bro!

 

[AZBeer]

Interesting. Thanks for all the feedback.

Is it possible to do a smaller starter? Or is that not worth it/ not effective?

May be more trouble than it's worth, but I figured I would give it a go for a few brews, see how it goes. Unless the general consensus is that it is a bad idea.
Is a 0.5L starter a possiblity?

 

[Allenk]

I just noticed you are only doing a 1.25 gallon batch. 1 liquid pack would be more than enough. If you make a starter you'll significantly dilute your good beer with yucky starter beer, even if you decant. It's not a big deal in a 5 gal batch but you'll probably be able to notice it in a 1.25 gallon batch. Not to mention you are already over pitching with a single liquid pack, a starter would be WAY over pitching. Google over pitching, apparently it can be as bad as under pitching if done to extremes.

You can think of your small batch as a starter. Save & rinse the yeast. You can use it on your next brew! The benefit of a starter is to grow the yeast. A small starter won't give you enough energy for the yeast to reproduce.

The nice part of small batch brewing is you can brew every week & not have beer comming out of your ears. Saving yeast will drive down your batch cost

 

[schematix]

For a 1G batch i'd just direct pitch it. I didn't see that note in your first post when i first read it. You could do a small starter, like 200mL, if its an old package of yeast.

 

[GPP33]

If you really want to do a starter you can. Just pitch a portion of it then save the rest for future brews. There's a really good article on here somewhere about doing this and freezing the leftovers.

 

[AZBeer]

I don't know if I would say that I really want to do a starter, but it was something that I wouldn't mind trying just to see how it impacts things...if at all.

The yeast is on its way, so I will check the date and go from there. Doubt it's really old, got it from a large online retailer.

 

[sky4meplease]

I would suggest continuing with your research into starters, pitch rates and yeast in general including some legitimate reading like the "Yeast" book to help guide you in this arena.
If you would like to get the most from the yeast you buy or propagate including performance, flavor contribution, health for reuse, reliability and consistency then "you should be fine" and "it always works for me" will not be good enough.

 

[DaWhip]

For 1 gallon you do not need a starter at all for a purepitch, nor would it be recommended. Depending on your beer you probably have more than twice the recommended pitch for a 1 gallon batch in a purepitch. Focus more on making sure your yeast are warmed up to the same temp as your wort and your wort is well aerated with appropriate nutrients. You will have more than enough cells so you can focus your efforts on making sure the yeast are happy and healthy.

I do 1 gallon batches regularly with a purepitch. Sometimes I use that yeast cake as my starter for a 5 gallon batch.

+1 on checking out the "yeast" book if you are interested in finding out the whys and hows behind it.