Yeast pitching.....FFS there is enough in pack

[bradsbrew]

I direct-pitched a wyeast into a damn mild (1.040) recently and got fusels and (possible) under-attenuation.
From now on in my brewery if it's liquid, it needs a starter.

I'd be looking at other parts of your process. I cannot see how direct pitching a swollen viable wyeast would lead to fusels and under attenuation in a 1040 mild.

 

[fletcher]

this thread must be for the sake of causing a shitstir, because all i've seen is "no it's not!", "yes it is!" like bickering school children; and is a complete waste of time and internet pixels better suited for porn.

 

[bradsbrew]

Hello my name is Brad and I am a certified under and over pitcher.

As I have stated in other threads, with the hundreds of full mash brews I have made and fermented I have probably made 3 starters and 2 of them were from coopers yeast. I will either direct pitch a wyeast smack pack, sprinkle one satchel of packet or use a yeast cake. I have my own little process that I change dependent on the brew type and size, this is stuff I have learnt over the years by experience in my little brewery.

It is not due to laziness I just like the results I get. Yes I have made some not so great beers but the issues were from other things not yeast. I have also tried beers made from starters that are just full of phenolics. I can make a well attenuated beer without the use of starters but I do make adjustments.

Cheers

 

[Jazzafish]

Im a fan of the Jamil yeast calculator. I have noticed an improvement in my ferments and beers when utilising it so won't go back. Sometimes that means a starter, sometimes it doesn't. All about viable cells into the ferment. Some strains are forgiving, but altering the pitching rate will drastically change the beer in most belgian and wheat strains. Any naysayers will change their tune if they experiment with a side by side ferment.

Lastly, in a smack pack, how many viable cells or nutrients do you estimate remains in the packet if you simply up end it without rinsing?

 

[Spiesy]

Yes there is.

I will be blunt.

The standard dry yeast pack and liquid ready packs have enough yeast for a successfully brew.

All this talk of having to use Mr Malty and other such crap is just that. Crap

Sure..if you are brewing more than a std batch of 22lt then.you MAY need more yeast.

It is a different story if you are using agar to provide your starter.

It is reasonably hard to underpitch due to the rate that yeast reproduces in wort.

Sorry mate - but some big generalisations there.

Are you saying that gravity plays no part in the amount of yeast required for a "standard" batch?
And are you saying that yeast populations do not diminish over time?

If there's 100 billion yeasties in a Wyeast smack pack - and the manufacturer claims that the 100 billion are needed to do the job; tell me how 30-odd billion are going to do the job equally as well, if the yeast is 3-months old?

 

[Yob]

4 pages and still ON topic?

What have you done with AHB and who are you?

 

[mje1980]

In theory, a smack pack has enough for a single batch of normal strength ale. But I prefer to make a small starter for ales ( 1.5litres), and a big one for lagers ( 4 litres, as I cold pitch ). I got sick of occasional long lag times, even with a fresh pack that was quite swollen. It's worth that little extra effort for me. I have made plenty of fine beers just pitching, but I like to be sure.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

4 pages and still ON topic?

What have you done with AHB and who are you?

This is nearly an AHB record

 

[NewtownClown]

Ho-Hum....

One either believes the science or not

 

[Nick JD]

Who has had an issue pitching a packet/smack pack into a wort that it was designed for...

Me.

Wyeast lager smackpacks. Anything that's more than a month old is not pitchable if you want a great lager.

Say you run a squad of cheerleaders. They all wear metalic gold hotpants (you with me here?) and can bend over backwards and lick their own ankles.

Right, so you want these cheerleaders to provide entertainment to the crowd. But you run three fat chicks wearing g-strings and ask them to dance and wonder why the crowd gets sour.

It's all about a billion hot cheerleaders. YOU HEARD ME. Yeast is HOT.

 

[citizensnips]

amen clown, amen

 

[jc64]

If using a White labs vial that is at it's use by date, what size starter is optimum for ensuring a strong fermentation? Question without notice but I'm interested in what people are thinking. Do you need to step it up?

 

[Yob]

Size of the starter will depend on 1: size of the brew 2: OG of the brew and yes, depending on those 2 factors may need to be stepped

 

[philmud]

Nick, your analogy is too distracting.

 

[djar007]

To lighten the mood.

 

[Yob]

or



:lol:

 

[treefiddy]

I always build starters with my dry yeast packs as I am very concerned about the 4% viability loss per year.

 

[jc64]

Size of the starter will depend on 1: size of the brew 2: OG of the brew and yes, depending on those 2 factors may need to be stepped

So say I have a vial 1 month past it's best before date. Going into a 1060 SG batch of 21 liters Mr Malty tells me I would need 6 vials in a 1.8 liter starter!! I must be doing something wrong with the calculator, surely no-one uses 6 vials?

 

[Yob]

If it's a month past its use by its lost most of its viability, hence the multiple vials, you my friend require a starter fo shizzle

ed: and I would probably step it, 500ml then 2lt

 

[jc64]

500 ml to 2 liters sounds good to me, but the 6 vials I mentioned are what is needed with a starter according to Mr Malty, unless I have it wrong. I have used old vials in a starter before, I must have massively underpitched if I needed 6 vials along with a starter.