Yeast starter question (it's not "should I make one...")

[--Dom--]

I'm brewing a hoppy amber-ish ipa-ish pretty big beer. Calculations put it at a little over 1.08OG. I plan on making a starter. I currently have in my possession two smack packs of wyeast 1272. Should I use both packs and make a double sized starter or am I ok with just the one?

 

[d3track]

How old are the packs?

 

[day_trippr]

Probably depends on the age/viability of your packs.

If they were fresh, MrMalty sez one pack in a 2 liter stir plate starter would suffice for 5.25g of 80 point wort.
Otoh, if they're a month old, two packs in a one liter stir plate starter is needed...

Cheers!

 

[Rob_ryan]

it strongly depends on your yeasts viability. But, with a 1080 beer it's hard to over pitch. if your smackpacks are under 2 months old i would only use one (with a decent sized starter ~800mL-1L) and save the other for another brew. if you feel the need, or just simply dont trust the yeast, pitch two even with a starter. im assuming it's a "neutral flavored" yeast, and over pitching wont be detrimental to your final product. Cheers!

 

[--Dom--]

Yeast was packaged 2/09/15, and I'll prob start making the starter March 4 for March 7 brew day.

 

[flars]

Brewers Friend calculator shows a target pitch rate of 288 billion cells. A 1.5 liter starter, with one pack of yeast, will yield 302 billion cells, on a stir plate. this is using the Pro Brewer 0.75 pitch rate, 1.080 estimated OG, 5.25 gallon brew volume.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

Recent discussions are saying the number of yeast cells produced with a stir plate will be the same as the number of cells produced without a stir plate. Not using a stir plate will just take longer to produce the same number of cells.

 

[flars]

You can make the starter a week earlier than your brew day, without cell loss, when refrigerated.

 

[--Dom--]

Brewers Friend calculator shows a target pitch rate of 288 billion cells. A 1.5 liter starter, with one pack of yeast, will yield 302 billion cells, on a stir plate. this is using the Pro Brewer 0.75 pitch rate, 1.080 estimated OG, 5.25 gallon brew volume.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

Recent discussions are saying the number of yeast cells produced with a stir plate will be the same as the number of cells produced without a stir plate. Not using a stir plate will just take longer to produce the same number of cells.

How much DME would I use for 1.5L? Also in regard to refridgeration, do you mean after fermenting at room temp or fermenting the whole time in the fridge? I was gonna cold crash the starter after 48 hours at room temp anyway so I could decant.

 

[helibrewer]

How much DME would I use for 1.5L? Also in regard to refridgeration, do you mean after fermenting at room temp or fermenting the whole time in the fridge? I was gonna cold crash the starter after 48 hours at room temp anyway so I could decant.

Use the 10% rule, 1.5L liquid gets 150g DME

 

[flars]

How much DME would I use for 1.5L? Also in regard to refridgeration, do you mean after fermenting at room temp or fermenting the whole time in the fridge? I was gonna cold crash the starter after 48 hours at room temp anyway so I could decant.

Well, I included the link to the calculator so you could take a look at it. Put your numbers in the calculator to see if you agree. The Brewers Friend site has a bunch of other calculators which may make a difference for you in the future.

Making a starter in the refrigerator may only work for a lager yeast. Frig temps would cause an ale yeast to go dormant.

I hope this is helpful.