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Author Topic: Starter size?  (Read 2053 times)

vorlaufthegreat

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Starter size?
« on: July 18, 2011, 06:15:56 pm »
I have been doing starters now for the past 5 -7 brew days. We have usually just made 1l starters but this go around I was planning on brewing the Pliny the Elder clone from Brewing Classic Styles. With the higher gravity beer I'd assume that I would probably need a starter larger than 1l. The book just says to make a starter of appropriate size. I will be using WLP001 with a stir plate and aerating with O2 and a diffusion stone. My question is how big of a starter should I make and also what is the DME to water ratio that most of you guys use? While lurking around on forums/videos I have found that ratio to be spread a decent amount. It seems pretty common to be using a wort of about 1.030 to 1.040 for most beers but what about a higher gravity beer such as this one? I have a 2l Erlenmeyer flask so I can make a starter up to that size. Also the size of the brew will be 5 gallons. Let me know if anymore info about the brew is needed for this starter size.

Offline aviking427

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Re: Starter size?
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2011, 06:37:48 pm »
not sure what the OG is but here is a helpful Calc for figuring your starter size. I use this all the time.

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
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Offline sparkleberry

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Re: Starter size?
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2011, 06:38:58 pm »
I have been using a 2l starter for the last few batches of medium gravity ales using just one smack pack. from what I can tell, it should double 100 billion cells to about 200 billion. for the pliney clone I'm gonna do in a few weeks, I plan to double the 200 to 400 billion. I'm basing this off a pitching chart in how to brew and beeralchemy, the brew program I use.
cheers.

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Offline bluesman

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Re: Starter size?
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2011, 06:50:34 pm »
not sure what the OG is but here is a helpful Calc for figuring your starter size. I use this all the time.

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

+1

mrmalty.com has my favorite yeast pitching rate calculater. There are other good calculaters out there, but I always use mrmalty as it hasn't let me down yet.
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vorlaufthegreat

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Re: Starter size?
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2011, 07:26:59 pm »
not sure what the OG is but here is a helpful Calc for figuring your starter size. I use this all the time.

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html
Very awesome, I've yet to run into this calculator as I've usually just brewed with others and not taken these type of things into my own hands. As far as the columns marked Volume U.S. gallons is that how much I want to end up with or the amount that I pitch into after boil. As far as the growth factor and viability columns I'm a little bit confused as for what values to input.

Offline a10t2

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Re: Starter size?
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2011, 06:50:10 am »
As far as the columns marked Volume U.S. gallons is that how much I want to end up with or the amount that I pitch into after boil.

That's the volume in the fermenter when you pitch the yeast. I have to ask, though - are you leaving so much behind in the fermenter that it would make a difference?

As far as the growth factor and viability columns I'm a little bit confused as for what values to input.

"Growth factor" lets you decide whether you want to make a large starter with fewer (usually one) yeast products, or a smaller starter beginning with more yeast. Just move it around until the number of packs/vials and the starter volume match up with what you're able/willing to do.

The viability calculator is my only real gripe with the MrMalty calc, since it assumes a linear reduction in viability over time. For the most part, though, if your pack/vial is reasonably fresh you can just put in the production date and let it estimate viability for you.
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vorlaufthegreat

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Re: Starter size?
« Reply #6 on: July 19, 2011, 03:54:16 pm »
Thanks for the info fellas!