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How much yeast do I need for a big beer?
I am making a beer that is going to be about 1.110 OG. I calculated that I'll need about 360 Billion yeast cells from the 1b starter, about 8-9 doublings. I have a stir plate and a 2L flask. How do you figure out the size of the starter you need and how many times do I need to decant and then refill with more DME wort?
2 Answers
- Del MerLv 69 years agoFavourite answer
Mind you, without a hemocytometer and a microscope this is all just guessing.
Assume a normal cell count of 100 M cells/ml at high kraeusen, for 360 B cells that gives you 3600ml.
But stirring and constant air infusion (from the stirring) gives you a somewhat higher cell enumeration.
Also you will get better cell enumeration with a starter gravity around 1024. Add some sort of nutrients if you have them. When out of Fermax I add some dry yeast that I boiled in the starter wort, this kills the yeast and releases their lipids and glycogen for the culture to make stronger, more energetic yeast.
One re-feeding. Try to get your timing so that you are pitching slightly after high-kraeusen in the starter. Glycogen is at its' highest in the pitching yeast then.
