I just picked up the w00tstout extract kit w/Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast. This is the first time I have made a beer this big (OG: 1.108)and have some questions on making the starter. (I will be using a stirplate.)
• Is there any difference between making a single large starter (approx 3.25L) or build up using two smaller starters?
• If I make one large starter, how long should it be on the stirplate for the yeast to consume all the available sugars in the starter wort?
Thanks!
Starters on a stir plate will take 18 to 36 hours to finish fermenting. After the starter is finished fermenting it can be cold crashed to drop the yeast out, to decant the spent starter wort before pitching.
The size of your starter, and step ups which may be needed, depends on the vitality of the yeast and your equipment. This is a calculator I like to use. Seems to have a realistic estimate of yeast vitality based on the age of the yeast.
http://www.brewunited.com/yeast_calculator.phpDon’t let me discourage you from making a really big starter, but this would be a great opportunity to save a lot of time and pitch multiple packs of US-05.
I usually use the calculator at
because it is the most configurable. I tried the url flars listed on my company supplied laptop but the url was blocked. Apparently it is on a spam url list.
I have always used Wyeast smack packs but, now that I have been brewing for a couple of years, I’m always looking for different ways of doing things. Dry yeast was one of the things I am planning on experimenting with. However, assuming I entered the the data into the calculator correctly, a 1.108 beer would need 8 packages of US-05 yeast! (531 billion cells needed; 6 billion cells per gram; 11 grams per package). That would make it an expensive option. Maybe I’ll try that on a low gravity beer first.
[quote=“BarbarianBrewer”]I usually use the calculator at
because it is the most configurable. I tried the url flars listed on my company supplied laptop but the url was blocked. Apparently it is on a spam url list.
I have always used Wyeast smack packs but, now that I have been brewing for a couple of years, I’m always looking for different ways of doing things. Dry yeast was one of the things I am planning on experimenting with. However, assuming I entered the the data into the calculator correctly, a 1.108 beer would need 8 packages of US-05 yeast! (531 billion cells needed; 6 billion cells per gram; 11 grams per package). That would make it an expensive option. Maybe I’ll try that on a low gravity beer first.[/quote]
Dry yeast has 18-20 billion cells per gram, though. 2-3 packs of rehydrated US-05 is what you would need. :cheers:
If it were me, I would brew a low gravity 5 gallon batch and use the whole cake for a beer that big.
I also use brewersfriend calculator and when i enter the information into the calculator it states that you would only need a 2 liter starter with no additional steps. This is assuming a viability of 80 percent with a 5.5 gallon batch and a 2L 1.040 starter. You would need roughly 398 billion cells and this starter would create 399 billion with using a stir plate.
^^^^ this right here. You get more beer, a healthy pitch, and likely better attenuation. Sounds like a winner to me.
^^^^ this right here. You get more beer, a healthy pitch, and likely better attenuation. Sounds like a winner to me.[/quote]
I don’t have time to do that this time because I hope to have this ready for a Superbowl party…especially if it’s a Green Bay Packer Superbowl party!! I bottle so with conditioning it will be close. But with the double recommendation I definitely want try this. When you do this do you just rack out the finished beer and immediately pour in the new wort? Or is there some yeast washing or other preparation needed. How do you know how many yeast cells are in the cake?
Due to the gravity of the beer I selected the “Pro Brewer 1.0 (Ale or High Gravity Ale)” setting instead of the default “Pro Brewer 0.75 (Ale)” setting. That bumps up the Target Pitch Rate to 531 billion cells. This is the first time I have used that setting but I feel confident this beer qualifies. 
After racking the beer out I like to pour the yeat into a sanitized jug so I can reclean my fermentor. There are some yeast calculators that estimate repitch rate. I think mr malty does. with a beer that big you would be hard pressed to over pitch.
Gd I agree. With most beers, say up to 1.070 a half cake would be plenty. But for 1.100 I would use the whole cake. OP you still have plenty of time to do this. Brew a 5 gal batch this weekend and this next weekend.
Edited because auto correct turned gd to God. I’m sure your beer is good but… :lol:
+1 or brew this weekend with 2 packets re-hydrated.
I would seriously advise you to re-think your strategy of serving such a big beer for the big game. I regularly brew for an uncle’s football party and one time I think I pushed it higher (1.065 or so) and it was not cool. A bunch of BMC guys had 3-4 pints before game even started… :lol:
You’re right. Maybe I’ll just serve it after the Packers win!! 
Oh man….I hope I didn’t just jynx them. :shock:
Oh well, it’ll make a good drown-your-sorrows brew too. 
