2nd brew, using (old) wet yeast

I'm gearing up for my second brew and first time using wet yeast. I may not have not read the instructions far enough in advance though, as I was hoping to brew Sunday and I'm pretty busy during the week. I'm just now reading about starters.

Also, the pack is about 14 months old, which is 8 months past the "best by" date (Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey - 125 mL). I ordered another recipe kit which is on the way - it uses the same yeast so I will have some backup in case it doesn't work out.

Anyway, I smacked the pack tonight and we'll see what happens. Assuming the pack even swells, my question is if people usually do starters for all wet yeast or just certain ones. I guess since this yeast is old it might be a good idea to get the yeast population up. This is for a Belgian Dubbel if that matters. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will swell by tomorrow and I can do the starter tomorrow night.

You could always just throw the packet contents in your starter wort and see what happens. That way you can save a day in your process.

You definitely need to make a starter for yeast that is old and past its date. That date is a best if used by date. I would do a two step starter to push the cell count up. make a 1.040 starter and let it go for 12 -18 hours, cold crash it and decant the spent beer off of it and put it in another 1.040 starter for 12-18 hours. That should give you close to the 200 million cells minimum that you will need.

Mouse

^^^

Probably don't "definitely" or "need" to, but probably a good idea.

If it doesn't swell you can still try to make a starter with it and hope that the seven remaining yeast cells do something.

yes you would be better makeing a starter and there eazy once you learn how. i have used about 5 of them now and i do notice a better turn out on my brew . it all depends on the gravity of your wort to know what size starter would work for you best... heres a link to a pdf from northern brew on how to make a starter.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/YeastStarter.pdf

Cool, thanks for the fast replies.

But I forgot to mention that I don't have any DME, and the only local "brewshop" is a hardware store with some carboys and $15 beer recipe kits so I'm not sure if they will have generic DME. If not, is there anything I can get at the grocery that would substitute?

Probably regular sugar. But if so it would help to have some yeast nutrient. Google that shiat I bet someone has done it and made a whole website about it.

Via google:


This HBT thread says use sugar with molasses as nutrient

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22755&referrerid=116293


Will not vouch for that claim, but the Internet says it so it must be true.

mike_in_ak said:

Will not vouch for that claim, but the Internet says it so it must be true.

Click to expand...

LMAO. And we know they can't put anything on the Internet that isn't true! Sorry, late brew night, several brews and almost no sleep in 3 days. I think its time to hit the pillow............

The pack did not seem to swell at all overnight, other than what the temp difference of being out of the fridge would account for. But the good news is my new kit arrived today which uses the same kind of yeast, so I think I'm just gonna smack that pack and try again with fresh yeast.

I'd rather spend the extra 6 bucks on new yeast than risk ruining a whole batch.

I'll probably just do a 1 step starter so I can still brew tomorrow, is that what people usually do under normal conditions?

Yeastcalc.com or mrmalty.com can help you determine the starter you need. Just fill in the values and type of starter ( hand stir, stirplate ext)

nifty tool, thanks!

According to YeastCalc I can get there in 1 step, assuming I shake it occasionally. I shake gently I assume? Couldn't find that answer online anywhere haha. I have a really small carboy with an airlock I was planning to use.

Also it defaults to 2 liters, does it matter if I use the same concentration with just 1 liter? And it uses ounces, I assume that is by weight and not volume? (I have seen approximations like 1 cup, etc on other sites).

Thanks again for all the help

Just swirl the container to keep yeast on suspension. Yes DME is in oz weight. You can change defaults on yeastcalc but not sure about mrmalty.

Also check out http://www.stirstarters.com/ great price on stirplate and even dyi instructions.