Yeast and smaller batch size questions

[JBrady]

Hey folks this is the first time that I have posted on this site in a long time. I stepped away from brewing to pursue other hobbies for around 8 years. I have decided to return to brewing doing batches between 1 and 2.5 gallons. My only real question with scaling down my batches is regarding yeast. Won't the yeast layer still grow to be the same size as a 5 gallon batch causing even less siphonable finished product in a already small batch size, or is this wrong? I take it that I should be pitching around half the yeast that you would with a 5 gallon batch, can the other half of the liquid yeast be saved? Being that the yeast price can be half the cost of a one gallon batch, how hard is it to make a yeast starter from the yeast in a finished bottle of homebrew or store bought beer? Thanks for any info and I'm glad to be back. THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNS!

 

[Lefou]

Sometimes the amount of yeast you use and under what conditions depends on the style you're doing and the characteristics you're shooting for.

First I choose the style and tailor malts for gravity, but my yeast choice is more important than hops. What I use and how much depends on beer style and ferm temps. For Belgians and German ales, I will use liquid yeasts and pitch accordingly. For lagers I typically use dry S-05 or 34/70. For the most part, my beers seldom exceed 10 SRM or an SG of 1.050.

 

[Lefou]

Some bottle cultures can be a pain to grow, so sometimes you may be better off using a portion of yeast (dry or liquid) for your own starter, then re-using it a couple times.

 

[RM-MN]

The yeast layer is a small portion of the trub and even if it doubled, it still won't be very much.

If you want to use liquid yeast you might want to do a starter and only pitch a part of it for the smaller batch. The rest can be saved in the refrigerator for future batches. Much of the yeast will settle out there and store well under the spent beer. Dry yeast seem to do just fine if you pitch part of a packet, then just fold the top of the packet over and fasten it that way. I use a clothes pin but tape would do the same thing.