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BrewerBS

BrewerBS

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I am making my first starter for a Carmelite Tripel(partial mash). I am using a one gallon glass jug. Here is what I have done so far. 3 QTS water, 9oz(weight)DME and a pinch of nutrient boiled for 15 minutes. Going to cool and put in jug and pitch the yeast. Everything I read says I only need two quarts. The guy I talked to at my LHBS said bigger is better so I went with three quarts. Will I be ok using all three quarts?
 
Short answer, yes.

Longer answer, I think you got some bad advice. In general, any advice that gives one size fits all or this ALWAYS works is probably not the best. In the case of a Belgian, bigger pitch rates will reduce the replication phase in your beer and reduce the typical Belgian esters and character. In fact, many brewers intentionally UNDER pitch Belgians and other yeast forward styles to enhance their character. Remember, yeast are living things and each strain is different, so how could a one size fits all answer be true ?
 
Demus said:
Short answer, yes.

Longer answer, I think you got some bad advice. In general, any advice that gives one size fits all or this ALWAYS works is probably not the best. In the case of a Belgian, bigger pitch rates will reduce the replication phase in your beer and reduce the typical Belgian esters and character. In fact, many brewers intentionally UNDER pitch Belgians and other yeast forward styles to enhance their character. Remember, yeast are living things and each strain is different, so how could a one size fits all answer be true ?
Click to expand...

Good answer Demus.
 
Thanks Demus! I am still waiting for the temp to come down. Should I take a quart out and only go with two or one QT or is it too late for that? My OG on the recipe is 1.081. I still need some quantity of a starter right?
 
BrewerBS said:
Thanks Demus! I am still waiting for the temp to come down. Should I take a quart out and only go with two or one QT or is it too late for that? My OG on the recipe is 1.081. I still need some quantity of a starter right?
Click to expand...

You have not told us the use by date of the yeast so it is difficult to advise accurately except to say you need around 277bn cells.

Assuming you have no stir plate and are not intermittently shaking the starter then 3L of starter would be required to get that number of cells in one starter.
 
el_caro said:
You have not told us the use by date of the yeast so it is difficult to advise accurately except to say you need around 277bn cells.

Assuming you have no stir plate and are not intermittently shaking the starter then 3L of starter would be required to get that number of cells in one starter.
Click to expand...

The package is WYEAST. It is 3522 Belg Ardennes. The MFG date is 14 MAR 13. I did the math last night and I believe it's at about 55%. My plan is to give the jug an occasional swirl a couple times a day to reach that 277bn number.
 
BrewerBS said:
The package is WYEAST. It is 3522 Belg Ardennes. The MFG date is 14 MAR 13. I did the math last night and I believe it's at about 55%. My plan is to give the jug an occasional swirl a couple times a day to reach that 277bn number.
Click to expand...

I haven't read any definitive studies on the matter, but in my experience refrigerated yeast doesn't lose viability as fast as the pitch rate calculators assume. My guess is they are "conservative" in their assumptions so you may have more than 55%. Since there's no way to actually measure this I generally cut the age in half on the calculator and have had great results. As for your Belgian Ardennes, I'd go 10 to 15% below the recommended rate of 270 billion, say about 230. This will still require a starter, but of a smaller size...
 
Demus said:
I haven't read any definitive studies on the matter, but in my experience refrigerated yeast doesn't lose viability as fast as the pitch rate calculators assume. My guess is they are "conservative" in their assumptions so you may have more than 55%. Since there's no way to actually measure this I generally cut the age in half on the calculator and have had great results. As for your Belgian Ardennes, I'd go 10 to 15% below the recommended rate of 270 billion, say about 230. This will still require a starter, but of a smaller size...
Click to expand...

The calculator I used put me at about 210 billion cells so I think I should be in good shape. That's at 55%. I have learned a bit more in reading overnight and today. I plan on brewing on Sunday will report back as I go through my process. Thanks all for the guidance!
 

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