Yeast pitch in American IPA

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jayk34

Landlord.
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
1,270
Reaction score
1,902
I intend to do the recipe for the American IPA from the Greg Hughes book next weekend and had a query about dry yeast pitch rate. I have entered the recipe into brewfather and also checked a few calculators online and they are suggesting 2 X 11g packets of yeast for the 1.060 estimated OG

If I was to hit the target OG, I don't have 2 packets of the yeast I want to use, so could I build a starter from dry yeast packet to increase cell count ? I've read in several places where starters shouldn't be made from dry yeast ?

I know that dry yeast is quite cheap but it's the delivery charge that puts the price up and I have just recently ordered a few bits and pieces from online and don't currently need anything else.
 
Ive only used one packet of Safale US05 on beers with 1060 OG with no problems. Or you could use CML FIVE.
I haven't done that many and retrospectively checked the ones I've completed and all of them have "required" 2 packets of dry yeast and I only pitched one packet. They have turned out ok and this is maybe where the old saying "a little knowledge is dangerous thing" comes into play here for me. Have been listening to podcasts and reading a bit about under pitching yeast and it's possible effect on the final beer.
 
I intend to do the recipe for the American IPA from the Greg Hughes book next weekend and had a query about dry yeast pitch rate. I have entered the recipe into brewfather and also checked a few calculators online and they are suggesting 2 X 11g packets of yeast for the 1.060 estimated OG

20 litres of 1.060 is generally regarded as the tipping point for going from one to two packs, a lot of the online calculators tend to go a bit over the top. You should be OK with one pack.

could I build a starter from dry yeast packet to increase cell count ? I've read in several places where starters shouldn't be made from dry yeast ?

You can certainly make starters from dry yeast, it just loses one of the big advantages of dry yeast over liquid yeast. Although yeast don't need oxygen to respire in the way that animals do, they do need oxygen to make the sterols that are an important part of the cell wall. So yeast normally need aeration in order to replicate. Dry yeast are grown with enough sterols to support 3-ish rounds of cell division which is just about enough to ferment out your beer. So dry yeast don't really need aeration, whereas liquid yeast, and dry yeast grown in a starter, need the wort to be aerated.

I know that dry yeast is quite cheap but it's the delivery charge that puts the price up and I have just recently ordered a few bits and pieces from online and don't currently need anything else.

Crossmyloof is a handy option for this kind of situation, as they don't charge delivery. Most of their dry yeast come from Lallemand or Fermentis so it's fairly easy to work out which they are - Five is the obvious choice here at £2.35 inc delivery :
https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/yeast-specshttps://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/online-store/CML-Beirm-Yeast-p371759031
 
20 litres of 1.060 is generally regarded as the tipping point for going from one to two packs, a lot of the online calculators tend to go a bit over the top. You should be OK with one pack.



You can certainly make starters from dry yeast, it just loses one of the big advantages of dry yeast over liquid yeast. Although yeast don't need oxygen to respire in the way that animals do, they do need oxygen to make the sterols that are an important part of the cell wall. So yeast normally need aeration in order to replicate. Dry yeast are grown with enough sterols to support 3-ish rounds of cell division which is just about enough to ferment out your beer. So dry yeast don't really need aeration, whereas liquid yeast, and dry yeast grown in a starter, need the wort to be aerated.



Crossmyloof is a handy option for this kind of situation, as they don't charge delivery. Most of their dry yeast come from Lallemand or Fermentis so it's fairly easy to work out which they are - Five is the obvious choice here at £2.35 inc delivery :
https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/yeast-specshttps://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/online-store/CML-Beirm-Yeast-p371759031

Thanks for the info. Will try one pack as I probably won't hit the target OG.

Had heard of crossmyloof but never had a look at their website. Looks very good and well keep then in mind for future.
 
I wonder if some of us are confusing making a starter with rehydrating the dried yeast. Rehydrating the yeast in warm water would give it a better chance than sprinkling it on relatively cool wort.
 
I wonder if some of us are confusing making a starter with rehydrating the dried yeast. Rehydrating the yeast in warm water would give it a better chance than sprinkling it on relatively cool wort.
In this particular situation I was thinking more of a starter to increase the cell count so that it handle the higher OG. From my limited knowledge Rehydrating is just giving the yeast a better chance at starting the fermentation without a long lag time but would still have the limiting factor of underpitching ?
 
Starter from dried yeast in 1020 wort. Just a few hours later.

B14DCDEE-8697-48C8-9E80-AF57F834748E.jpeg
 
In this particular situation I was thinking more of a starter to increase the cell count so that it handle the higher OG. From my limited knowledge Rehydrating is just giving the yeast a better chance at starting the fermentation without a long lag time but would still have the limiting factor of underpitching ?
Up to a point. Some, Chris White of White Labs, for example, believes that pitching direct kills about half the cells by causing trauma to the cell walls. Others are not of that opinion, but if Chris is right, then rehydration would give the same number of cells as pitching two packets directly into the beer. Who knows, there have been quite a few advances in dry yeast technology that it may no longer make much difference.
 
Last edited:
Up to a point. Some, Chris White of White Labs, for example, believe that pitching direct kills about half the cells by causing trauma to the cell walls. Others are not of that opinion, but if Chris is right, then rehydration would give the same number of cells as pitching two packets directly into the beer. Who knows, there have been quite a few advances in dry yeast technology that it may no longer make much difference.
I think I need to stop reading and listening to podcasts 😃
 
Back
Top