Good Day Jake, For 5 gallons 1 smackpack should have a starter made two double the cell count,,,,,,If your made of MONEY, use 2 smackpacks, skip the starter.

My rule of thumb double the yeast(some way) when it is cool (lager), go single when it's warm(ale).

jakethesnake559 wrote:Thanks for a great post Hashie!!
You mean I don't need to take 3 pages of notes on brewday ?

I only have a few BIABs under my belt, so it's a bit early for me to throw away the numerical training wheels!!

Yeast cell calculations and pitching rates...that's what's doing my head in right now .
Can someone please tell me it really isn't that important.
Then I can take the plunge into liquid yeast starters without fear of under/over pitching!!

I know I'm probably dreaming right ??

A single Wyeast "smack pack" will normally suffice for any beer under @ 1.060 OG. I'm told the same goes for the vial of White Labs yeast. If you want to be absolutely sure, simply boil a litre of water with a cup of DME for 10 minutes, cool it down, pour it in an empty (sanitized) growler, add your package/vial of liquid yeast, put a bit of aluminum foil loosely over the top (don't use an airlock), and let it take off. At this point you have two choices: pitch it into your fermenter at high krausen (I normally do this) or let it ferment completely (a day or two) and then stick it in the fridge to let the yeast settle out so you can decant the beer and just pitch the yeast slurry.

Honestly, unless you are going for a specific style beer that requires flavor contributions from a certain yeast strain, I would just stick with the dry stuff because it is so much easier to deal with.

Just my .02.

---Todd

hashie wrote:

lambert wrote:I like numbers . Hitting the numbers re-assures me that I'm doing great and that the beer would taste great . But I do dream of that hydrometer-less, number-less nirvana that only comes from experience... Now, shall I mash my next brew at 65.4C or 65.7C

definitely 65.4C, 65.7C would be way too sweet

The original intent of the OP was not necessarily for people to abandon their hydrometer, although it is a liberating thing to do. It was to encourage new brewers to concentrate on the important numbers like, temperature, grain weight and liquid volume. Rather than being caught up on a 2% efficiency change, when often efficiency is poorly defined and other brewing ambiguities.
Beersmith asks a brewer what temperature their grain is prior to adding to the mash. I ask, who cares and what difference could it possibly make, other than a change of 0.02°C once added to the strike water?

hashie - You saw the tongue-in-the-cheek smilies all over my original post?! Just making sure.
The "hard" part for newbies (like me) is to accept that the old hands are right: - get the basics right and you will end up with something very drinkable. People, in general, like to hear that they should add 257.4grams of grain 38 minutes into the mash whilst the temperature is 66.2C and stable. (There is a question about consistency though. Will make that a new topic - if it's not already covered).

PS: a great yeast start calculator


http://www.yeastcalc.com/

lambert wrote:
hashie - You saw the tongue-in-the-cheek smilies all over my original post?! Just making sure.
The "hard" part for newbies (like me) is to accept that the old hands are right: - get the basics right and you will end up with something very drinkable. People, in general, like to hear that they should add 257.4grams of grain 38 minutes into the mash whilst the temperature is 66.2C and stable. (There is a question about consistency though. Will make that a new topic - if it's not already covered).

I did realise you were being tongue in cheek Lambert, I was as well

SWMBO has an appointment with the eye doctor today at 1.45, we should be away for around 3 hours. Better get that mash on so it'll be ready for mashout when I get home

skates wrote:I don't own a hydrometer- never did. Brewing beer is as complicated- or as simple- as one chooses to make it. I have used BIAB from my first all grain. Someday I will take the brewing process more seriously, maybe get a refractometer, or a digital thermometer, or something like that... till then I'll be too busy brewing and enjoying a cold one!

Don't bother taking brewing too seriously. You don't need a hydrometer or a refractometer. A thermometer a pot and a bag are all you need. The more I brew and the more I learn. The more I am convinced that we all tend to over think the process. The less you do the less chance you have to screw-up! The less you have to obsess over! Keep It Simple Stupid. KISS!

Skates

A digital thermometer is the cats ass. I like it because it's easy to use and you can switch between C and F degrees. I don't really trust them that much so I calibrate them once in a while. This is the only tool I really use.

I can't believe I haven't put this link into this thread as yet .

I love a simple brewday and know it can be done perfectly with very few measurements and equipment.

Unfortunately I also love testing out things. For example, I'd like to put a percentage on what difference to efficiency leaving the bag until mash out temp does compared to pulling it immediately. This should, for all practical purposes simply be a matter of measuring the gravity at the end of the mash and then again after the bag is pulled at mash out as the volume difference will be almost identical, certainly immeasurable.

I thought I'd do this measurement again today on two brews but cheated by using my refractometer. Suffice to say, that I won't be using it again tomorrow.

There's only one thing I know from all these years of collecting figures - you can never rely on a single reading from a single instrument (let alone done on a single brew) to know whether a change in your brewing practice actually makes a difference. Even if I'd used my hydrometer today on those two brews, I still wouldn't have learned anything - just gathered two more sets of figures. It's repeated measurements over many brews that tell a story and this is hard to do for a home brewer.

When I hear the phrase, "I hit my numbers every time," I roll my eyes because I know you'll never hit your numbers every time. (Sometimes we just see what we want to see.)

Oh and I do know one other thing... As long as you are in the ballpark, you get great beer.

Measuring precise numbers on a home brew scale is simply not possible especially with a single instrument. (For example, I have four hydrometers and so have an advantage that I can work on my most 'average' one. I also have 11 thermometers ).

If I didn't have this obsession with looking at whether certain things make a difference, I'd happily brew with no measurements and simply rely on The Calculator. Good recipes and experience are certainly a lot more important than numbers.

A good understanding of numbers will help to ensure you get the good recipes in the ball park however.


PP

PP used a refrac? Did you install a ball valves into your kettle too?

Yeah, I put ball-valves in two or three years ago and have regretted it ever since - lol! (Must get those holes welded up one day )

Bought the refractometer about 6 years ago. Ditto .

BobBrews wrote:thughes,
Don't for get September 19th is International talk like a Pirate day!

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

Arrrrr! It's September 19th again! Bonus points for any of you scurvy bilge rats that post a picture of yourself as a pirate.

Sorry Todd but unlike you I wouldn't be able to wear work clothes for the pic.

thughes,

Nice outfit matey! We had a outdoor beer meeting last night and during the class on different types of mashing we had a violent wind storm. Then the sky's opened up and dumped hail on us. The grills and my pot of chilli were filled with ice and water! The thing that hurts me most is that I made such a big deal about "talk like a pirate day" but with all the commotion I forgot about it until the clean up! Arrr! The scurvy bilge rats scattered after being soaked and the night was a disaster!