[kgs]

I am going to make a tiny dubbel or BPA this Friday night (where tiny = about 2.25 gallons) and wondered if I could get away with pitching a vial of yeast. I'm writing the two LHBS's to see if they carry T58, which I've never used, but I'm sure one of them will have a Belgian. My sense is I'll be able to get by as long as I keep the gravity reasonable, but just checking in with the smart folk before I do.

[erockrph]

For a batch that small, you could definitely pitch one vial or smack pack with no starter for a beer up to 1.050 or so. If the yeast is getting kinda old, then run it through the calculator on mrmalty.com just to be sure.

[bluesman]

For a batch that small, you could definitely pitch one vial or smack pack with no starter for a beer up to 1.050 or so. If the yeast is getting kinda old, then run it through the calculator on mrmalty.com just to be sure.

+1

The viability of the yeast will be a key factor here.  This depends on how the yeast was handled up until now.  I would at the very least make a one pint starter to activate the yeast and pitch the active starter.  Either way you will make beer. 

[tygo]

Yeah, it all depends on your gravity.  If you have a very fresh smack pack you could go up to around 1.060 with that size batch.  If your gravity is higher or your smack pack is older I would make a small starter.

[tschmidlin]

I would feel comfortable pitching a single fresh smack pack in 2.25 gallons of wort in the BJCP OG range for BPA or dubbel.  Dubbel maxes out at 1.075 and BPA is lower, you won't have any problems.  If you shoot for the high end of dubbel, you can make a small starter or just give it an extra shot of O2 about 6 hours after pitching.

[kgs]

I would feel comfortable pitching a single fresh smack pack in 2.25 gallons of wort in the BJCP OG range for BPA or dubbel.  Dubbel maxes out at 1.075 and BPA is lower, you won't have any problems.  If you shoot for the high end of dubbel, you can make a small starter or just give it an extra shot of O2 about 6 hours after pitching.

Thanks all. Barring work crises I may make it to an LHBS today at least long enough to grab yeast, and then I can make a starter. I do intend for this to be on the lower end (sort of BPA/dubbel borderline). Ironically, I'm at a meeting on Friday 4 blocks from the LHBS closest to home, but since I'm brewing that night, the timing is off.

[kgs]

I appreciate the encouragement to make a starter... had fermentation going at 3 hours and it was vigorous within 6. When you don't brew that often, the stakes get a little higher -- my previous batch, a Cal Common, was a big disappointment.  I don't know where I slipped, since I had made the same recipe two months earlier with great success, but this time I was rigorous end-to-end about everything. Resolved: to make starters a week in advance (why not!) and to squeeze in even a small extract brew once a month so I don't feel sad over the occasional major flop.