Need some quick advice on yeast starter

Northern Brewer General
1

Situation - A friend prematurely activated the smack pack for his Belgiun Tripel. He doesn’t have a yeast starter or a starter kit.

Can he brew a high gravity Tripel without a yeast starter and what are the upside and downside of that?

Should he take the yeast as a loss, order new yeast along with a starter kit?

Can he get some additional dry yeast in time (before the smack pack is no good) and just add some extra yeast?

2

Stick the yeast back in the fridge until he can make a starter. One pack won’t be enough for 5 gallons of Tripel.

3

1 pack CAN brew a Tripel with no starter…
It can brew about 1.5-2 gallons of tripel, not 5. :lol:

4

You have a couple of options.

  1. Put the pack back in the fridge and buy more yeast.
  2. Put the pack back in the fridge, order a starter kit, make a starter and brew.
  3. Brew a smaller batch… maybe 2 gallons or so. Then rinse the yeast and save it for another larger batch later.
  4. Brew something else that’s a lower gravity. First thing that comes to mind, Patersbier. Simple grain bill, 1 hop, and the yeast from the Tripel should work just fine for a Patersbier. Then rinse and collect the yeast from the Patersbier and you’ll have enough to brew your Tripel in just a few weeks.

I would recommend option 4.
Good luck! :cheers:

5

Make a 2L starter in a 1gal glass jug (apple juice comes in these at the store). Use some of the extract from the tripel kit, ferment the starter at a modest temp and pitch the whole thing wort and all into the batch so you don’t lose any gravity on the kit itself.

That said, a smacked pack that went back in the fridge will still have plenty of viable yeast for weeks, enough for a starter for sure.

6

so if the yeast is placed back in the fridge, it can last a week or more?

7

Much more.

8

[quote=“Denny”]Much more.[/quote]+1 Just made a batch of Saison with a 3711 pack dated Aug 2011.

9

I think the nutrient pack you break open only has a very little bit of sugar to cause enough swelling that you know the yeast is alive. It won’t break open and the yeast don’t all die just because they’ve had a tiny snack.

10

Thanks everyone.