How much wort can yeast handle?

[Fire-Brew]

I have been scaling up some of my recent batches (to compensate for loss to trub). I have mainly been utilizing liquid White Labs Yeast. How far above the 5 gallon mark, in your experience, will one tube of WL still be sufficient, without having to pitch a second tube?

Thank you in advance!

 

[BigFloyd]

It depends on more than just volume. Gravity of the wort and age of the vial are two important factors. Also, lagers require roughly twice the cells vs. an ale.

One vial in a medium gravity 5-gallon batch of ale is under pitching. Best to make a starter. If that's a problem, use dry yeast rehydrated in 95-100*F tap water.

 

[Kealia]

If you are not familiar with these tools, get familiar with them. It will make a difference in your beers.

Mr Malty

Yeast Calc

 

[Fire-Brew]

Thanks for the replies. For the sake of convenience, I have been using the vials. Kealia, I like that yeast calculator! I will have to experiment a bit more to make sure I am pitching the correct volume.

Thank you again.

 

[kh54s10]

If you are not familiar with these tools, get familiar with them. It will make a difference in your beers.

Mr Malty

Yeast Calc

This^^ If you are using liquid yeast without making starters, in most cases you are not using the optimum amount of yeast.

You can use just a vial or pack and ferment your beer but you should get better results when making a starter.

Added: One vial is rarely optimum and pitching multiple vials is an option but making starters is far cheaper.

 

[BigFloyd]

If you're going to use liquid yeast, learning about pitch rates and making starters is a necessity. Buying multiple packs for each batch is pretty pricey.

Learning about harvesting yeast is another useful tool.

After racking a Munich Dunkel to a keg today for a couple months of 35*F lagering, I've got more Wyeast 2124 Bohemian lager slurry than I know what to do with. Great strain though. Makes an awesome Maibock.