Starter required for 1 gallon batch?

Graemeo

New Member
Trial Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2018
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi all,

First time poster here!

I'm hoping you can give me some advice on a 1 gallon imperial stout I am brewing. The anticipated OG is about 1.102 and I am using WLP013. Using the Brewer's Friend calculator based on the manufacture date of the yeast I am about 15 billion cells off the target pitch rate. It would only take a very small starter to achieve the target pitch rate but would this be overkill? I was hoping to brew tomorrow and won't have time to make a starter in time so was wondering if I could get away with pitching straight in?

Thanks for your help!
Graeme
 
How many cells are required (by the calculator)? And are you under or over the target amount?

You can be a little under or over the calculator, but with such a small batch and a high OG, you might want to be a little over rather than under.
 
How many cells are required (by the calculator)? And are you under or over the target amount?

You can be a little under or over the calculator, but with such a small batch and a high OG, you might want to be a little over rather than under.

Should have specified that, sorry! I need 73 billion cells and based on the yeast manufacture date I have 55 billion cells
 
If it were me, I’d spin up a starter for that. ;)
 
If it were me, I’d spin up a starter for that. ;)
I agree. According to the numbers you gave, your pitch rate is .75 billion/degree plato/mL. In a big beer like that it would be good to be at 1-1.25 pitch rate. You would need a .4 liter starter to get up there and then decant prior to pitching to keep the starter wort from diluting the Imperial Stout. Remember these beers need a lot head room and oxygen, shake the p%!$ out of it or aerate with pure oxygen when you pitch. Good luck!
 
I agree. According to the numbers you gave, your pitch rate is .75 billion/degree plato/mL. In a big beer like that it would be good to be at 1-1.25 pitch rate. You would need a .4 liter starter to get up there and then decant prior to pitching to keep the starter wort from diluting the Imperial Stout. Remember these beers need a lot head room and oxygen, shake the p%!$ out of it or aerate with pure oxygen when you pitch. Good luck!

Thanks for your input :) Blow off tube will be implemented from the get go!
 
If it were me, I'd make a gallon batch of an Ordinary Bitter which would easily be done in a week and be dropping out so that you could rack off a little beer to be drinking while you're waiting for your stout to be ready.
If you did a gallon of 1.040 beer you'd end up with about half again the cell count you need for a high-gravity ale. That means you could use maybe 3/4 of your resulting slurry, have a very nice pitch for your stout and have another healthy pitch for another starter or even a small batch of lower-gravity beer.
If you decide to do a small starter, it should finish very quickly, probably overnight, even if it's just shaken and not spun on a plate.
 
Dilution is a problem with starters on small batches. Instead, you can pitch into half or 2/3 of the wort and add the rest when it krausens. The raw wort can store in a mason jar in the meantime.
 

Back
Top