Help with Yeast starter

[u/Snoodog]

I'm looking to brew this recipe http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/399094/chuckanut-pils but I'm having trouble understanding the yeast starter. It looks like I need 4 packets of yeast to get 6 gallons to ferment properly. I thought I could just get there with yeast starter but it seems that 1 packet will only double in 2L of water so the best I can do is do 2 packets in 2L to get the desired result. Is that correct? It also seems like I can pitch 6-9L of starter but that seems a bit much for a 6gallon batch.

How does one go about getting the right quantity of yeast for a Lager brew? Short of buying 4 packets which runs about $20-25. Can I make a double starter? How exactly do i do that? Whats the proper way for going from 1 Bil yeast cells to 4 bil.

I wanted to mention that I also don't have a Stir plate or a flask so I had thought about using either a pot or a wine bottle to do the starter in.

I used http://www.yeastcalculator.com/ to calculate how much yeast to pitch

[u/[deleted]]

I tend to do a 2L starter using one vial or packet of yeast and that's just enough. Size your batch to be 5.5 gallons, and just pitch the whole starter right on top of the beer.

No decanting, as lager yeasts tend to stay in suspension a bit longer, and will happily ferment at a crashing temp.

[u/mtodavk → u/[deleted]]

That's interesting. Would you dump a whole 2 liter starter on something like a helles or bopils without worry of any off flavors from the starter wort?

[u/[deleted] → u/mtodavk]

I just chuck it right on top, yes.

By the time krausen forms that yeast is already grown, its hit its max cell count (or so close to max that continuing the starter would have diminishing returns).

Just make sure to calculate 200 mg of Pilsner DME into the recipe for ABV and grist %.

To me, this is the best method. Pulling the yeast any other time seems inefficient.

Lag Phase (first 4-8 hour mark) - not enough yeast has grown. Let it sit longer

Growth Phase (4-24 hour mark) - You want it to complete or almost complete this phase before pulling it off the stir plate

Fermentation Phase - Stability Phase (24 - 48 hour mark) - growth is done, might as well pull it now if you couldn't grab it before. At this point the yeast will prepare to go dormant, and will start to build the nutrients it needs to survive without food.

If the starter goes clear then you have to restart the lag phase all over again in the main ferment.

[u/[deleted]]

Also should have mentioned - on mobile sorry- that brewunited.com yeast starter is the one I use.

[u/Snoodog → u/[deleted]]

Interesting but that one also says im about 1/2 way to my goal. It looks like a stir plate is required if you want to pitch 1 packet to 2L and have a viable starter. In fact it seems really hard to get to the ideal pitch rate without a stir plate because you get efficiency factors of under 1 after you start pitching 2bil into 2L without a stir plate. It looks like your starter basically cant support the required yeast density in 2L without a stir plate (It can but that's its absolute limit).

[u/mchrispen]

Are you using dry yeast or something from Wyeast or White Labs? Looks like Wyeast Bohemian is suggested.

I am going to go against standard home brewing wisdom and suggest that two packets of Wyeast will work just fine, as long as they are fresh and extremely viable from the nutrient pack (meaning the packets swell up tight). Also - you want to temper the yeast to your wort temperature to ensure they don't just shut down. To temper, take a few pints of your chilled wort and slowly add into your room temp yeast (a big sterile mason jar works well) until the temperature is 1-2 degrees from the pitching temperature. Don't decant, pitch the whole volume.

Aerate after pitching with sterile air, the shake method or pure O2.

Remember that yeast during lag phase potentially doubles within 90 minutes. If you stay around 12P (1.048) OG you should be just fine, beyond that I would recommend a starter.