Run into a problem with yeast calculator, advice needed.

[DonGavlar]

So this Sunday or the Monday I will be brewing a highly hopped witbier. Its a mix of a classic wit and an IPA, apas its called a white IPA.

Anyway, as usual I got my yeast (WLP400 Belgian Wit) and proceeded to make a yeast starter. On the package it says MFG 18 oct 17. So I input ale yeast, stir plate and the viability date (18 oct 17) and the OG (063) into mr malty and its telling me with growth factor on full I need to make a 2.18 litre starter with 2 packets of the yeast.. With all my beers I've made, the largest I've had to make is 1.4 litre with 1 pack. Its not exactly a strong beer, so I turned to beersmith to look at what they suggest. On beersmith it says I need to make a 1.68L starter with 1 pack. So seeing as I only had 1 pack, I made a 1.7L 038 starter.

Is this going to be ok? Is Mr Malty over exaggerating the viability date? Am I going to need to step up the starter?

I'm just a bit confused as on all my beers, the 2 calculators have always been somewhat similar. Mr Malty has always suggested a larger starter but never by this much. On Mr malty its saying I need 4 packets of yeast in a 1 litre starter for this beer, that just seems ridiculous!

Any advice?

 

[paneubert]

Mr Malty over exaggerating the viability date?

In my opinion, yes. Mr Malty takes a very aggressive approach to how much death they assume per day since manufacture.

 

[beerlover77]

2L starter and one WLP PurePitch pack will get you rolling providing your OG won't be really high and it is a 5g batch

 

[helibrewer]

This is my favorite calculator, very easy to use: http://yeastcalculator.com/

 

[helibrewer]

So this Sunday or the Monday I will be brewing a highly hopped witbier. Its a mix of a classic wit and an IPA, apas its called a white IPA.

Anyway, as usual I got my yeast (WLP400 Belgian Wit) and proceeded to make a yeast starter. On the package it says MFG 18 oct 17. So I input ale yeast, stir plate and the viability date (18 oct 17) and the OG (063) into mr malty and its telling me with growth factor on full I need to make a 2.18 litre starter with 2 packets of the yeast.. With all my beers I've made, the largest I've had to make is 1.4 litre with 1 pack. Its not exactly a strong beer, so I turned to beersmith to look at what they suggest. On beersmith it says I need to make a 1.68L starter with 1 pack. So seeing as I only had 1 pack, I made a 1.7L 038 starter.

Is this going to be ok? Is Mr Malty over exaggerating the viability date? Am I going to need to step up the starter?

I'm just a bit confused as on all my beers, the 2 calculators have always been somewhat similar. Mr Malty has always suggested a larger starter but never by this much. On Mr malty its saying I need 4 packets of yeast in a 1 litre starter for this beer, that just seems ridiculous!

Any advice?

Your starter will work if it's oxygenated on a stir plate

 

[dmtaylor]

You only need one pack. MrMalty is goofy. Follow your instincts and ALWAYS round way way down when using MrMalty tool.

 

[rhys333]

I agree that the yeast calculators are very aggressive, both in terms of loss of viability and required cell counts. I rarely bother using them. Instead, I estimate 15% cell loss per month. As for the rule of thumb 200B cells per 5 gallons ale @ 1.050... its twice what we need. I use the WY packs and I pitch directly unless the pack is slow to swell. If anything, pitching on the lower side seems to be beneficial as it promotes the growth of new cells which it turn encourages yeast character and a better beer (imho). Anything over 5 gallons @ 1.060, or really old yeast, gets a 0.75 - 1.0 L starter (no stir plate) and I typically see activity in 4-24 hours.

 

[DonGavlar]

Ok thanks guys, I expected it was a bit over the top.

I’ve resorted to using kai’s stir plate option for calculators, it seems to fot closer to what I’d expect.

Thanks for the replys