Yeast starter necessary for a heff?

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greatschmaltez

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I'm preparing to do a wheat beer for my next brew. Almost all the recipes I've seen for wheat beers recommend doing a starter and I'm trying to understand if it is necessary. I've always used the Wyeast smack packs with 100 billion cells. For my wheat, I was planning to use Nottingham dry yeast. Why can I not just rehydrate and pitch the yeast? Is it a cell count issue, and if so, couldn't I just buy a couple extra packs?

Side questions:
1. Never done a starter, is there a thread that is the "starter for dummies"?
2. Any recommendations on other good wheat beer yeasts?

Thanks
 
If you are looking for a true German style Hefe, I would recommend Wyeast 3068 or White Labs 300. Nottingham will definitely not give you the flavors that these yeasts provide.
 
I didn't make my first starter for more than a year after I started brewing. Now I always make one. It's an extra step, but it's really easy and you know what you are putting in your beer. My beers turned out fine for the most part before using starters, but I won't go back!
 
If it's your first wheat, I have two suggestions.

- Use WLP300 with a 1L starter.

- Use a blow off! Wheats are vigorous fermenters!
 
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