Lager yeast pack starter requirements

[Brewer #334545]

hey everyone,

I plan on brewing a lager in the very near future using Whitelabs 850 Copenhagen lager yeast.
I like to make 5.5 gallons of wort to ferment just to have extra over the yeast cake,
my OG on the recipe is ~1.056 dont really know what ill actually hit.

My LHBS was only able to get one package of this.

will one pack be enough with a 1L starter?
the online calculator say it wont be, but whitelabs website says one pack is good for a 5 gallon batch up to 1.060.
would just like to hear your guys thoughts.

thanks,

-Will

 

[Nosybear]

hey everyone,

I plan on brewing a lager in the very near future using Whitelabs 850 Copenhagen lager yeast.
I like to make 5.5 gallons of wort to ferment just to have extra over the yeast cake,
my OG on the recipe is ~1.056 dont really know what ill actually hit.

My LHBS was only able to get one package of this.

will one pack be enough with a 1L starter?
the online calculator say it wont be, but whitelabs website says one pack is good for a 5 gallon batch up to 1.060.
would just like to hear your guys thoughts.

thanks,

-Will

I'm sure what Chris White says is holy Gospel.... I'd make a bigger starter than that - generally around 2 1/2 liters for my lagers.

 

[J A]

Liquid yeast is only as good as its date. One pack that's fresh out of the lab is one thing but one that's a couple of months old is another altogether. The generic recommendations from the manufacturer are based on ale fermentation - low temp lager fermentation requires much higher cell count. Go by the yeast count estimate in the calculator. A 2-liter spun starter is pretty standard for most lagers.

 

[Hawkbox]

I'd say it will probably be fine.