I’m going to be dabbling with an NB kit that requires a yeast starter.
Is it recommended to match the starter yeast with the main yeast used in the recipe?
Huh?
Do you mean making the starter with the yeast recommended by the recipe? If so, then sure.
[quote=“Dimik”]Huh?
Do you mean making the starter with the yeast recommended by the recipe? If so, then sure.[/quote]
Yes, my question was poorly worded. So I would need two smack packs of the same yeast type, in other words.
Well if you’re making a starter you won’t really need two packs. How big is the beer?
Yes, 1 pack and 3/4 -1gallon starter will get you where you want to be.
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.htmlI do believe that it relies on the OG, the date of the yeast, and the size of the yeast starter… but check out Mr. Malty.
The main point of making a starter is to get the proper cell count without using multiple yeast packs.
If you need more yeast than can be propagated in an average sized starter you can do a step starter. That is fermenting a wort until it is almost fully done then cooling, decanting then adding a fresh wort so the propagation can continue.
mrmalty.com and yeastcalc.com have a lot of information.
If you feel you need to do multiple starters, it may be advantageous to make a smaller OG beer and rack the big OG beer onto the yeast cake.
Ah - apparently there was a disconnect in that I was overthinking the yeast starter concept.
Based on what I’ve read and what you have all so patiently explained is that it’s an entire single yeast pack that is jumpstarted (via http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/1000 … r-kit.html) a few days before it is pitched into the wort. The recipe - in this case the Belgian Dubbel - still only will use one yeast pack, but it will have been pitched already “started”.
I guess I thought it was an additional or partial yeast pack.
