Yeast Questions

[McDegga]

So my brew day has been moved up to this afternoon which leaves me in a bit of a bind with regard to yeast. Hers's my issue, I am brewing a Kolsch and a good ol' American Light Ale, neither of them truly big beers. I have Brewers choice 1056 American and White Labs Kolsch yeast. I have the right stuff, but have 2 problems;

1. I don't have enough time for the 1056's starter. Can I use it without a starter after smacking the pack and leaving it for a few hours?

2. I have the White Labs yeast that is 2 months past it's prime. should I use the yeast that came with my kit (powdered carp) or take a chance on the liquid?

I have a small window to brew, and I won't have time to replace the Whitelabs or make a starter for the 1056...

Comments?

Thanks!

 

[Shay]

I cannot speak for the kolsch, but for American Light Ale, I would use safale-05 dried yeast.

 

[McDegga]

I cannot speak for the kolsch, but for American Light Ale, I would use safale-05 dried yeast.

I have the safale, so I can do this. Do you think that the results will still be quality, all things being equal? Do you think the 1056 won't have enough yeasties to get the job done?

 

[Ketchepillar]

I think the 1056 should get the job done alright. An american light should be too stressful on your yeast. The kolsch seems a little riskier, but I'd go for it. That's just me though.

 

[Freezeblade]

Any amount of time for the starter is better than no starter. get that yeast in there, and pitch it at full krausen, that'll give you some more healthy yeast, even a few hours would increase the amount of viable yeast before you pitch it to the main wort. IMO.

 

[McDegga]

Should I forgo the Kolsch liquid and settle for the dried?
Is the 1056 worth trying?
I've gotten it into a starter, but time is very tight.

 

[McDegga]

UPDATE

I pitched the 1056, we'll see where that goes. I think I'll use the powdered carp for the Kolsch...
I'll update tomorrow if the yeasties bite.

 

[Shay]

I have the safale, so I can do this. Do you think that the results will still be quality, all things being equal? Do you think the 1056 won't have enough yeasties to get the job done?

US-05 is identical to 1056. Plus a package has somewhere around 200 billion cells vs at best 100 billion for the wyeast.

 

[McDegga]

OK, I pitched the 1056 and lo and behold, I have a lot of action in the primary. It's churning and there's a healthy krausen on top. Looks like this one will be fine. I held off on the Kolsch and will brew tomorrow with powdered yeast. Thanks for your insight and suggestions!