Yeast starter pitch rate

[njohnsoncs]

I'm making a yeast starter for a Hefeweizen using Wyeast 3068. I want to pitch it at 50% of the recommended cell count in order to stress the yeast to produce more banana flavor.

I used the calculator https://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/ and it said I need 179 billion cells so I made a starter to give me roughly 50% of that.

However, the calculator defaulted the option "Target Pitch Rate" to "Pro Brewer 0.75 (Ale)". I didn't change this because I wasn't sure what it meant. It seems like this implies the default pitch rate is 75%. So if I wanted a pitch rate of 50% but used the calculator set at 75%, will my pitch rate be off or am I not understanding the meaning of this option.

 

[ba-brewer]

75% of 1millionCells/mL is the normal pitch rate for ales.

I believe you want to use 50% of the 179Billion cells.

 

[mulletmaster]

I thought a smack pack is 100B cells when packaged, depending on date so a starter may not be needed.

 

[njohnsoncs]

I thought a smack pack is 100B cells when packaged, depending on date so a starter may not be needed.

A starter is almost always recommended when using a smack pack, in my opinion. For the one I have, this is especially true since it is dated 4/9/17.

 

[helibrewer]

This is my favorite calculator http://yeastcalculator.com/