Getting ready for the OG 1.070 to FG 1.030 Oatmeal Milk Stout. I punched in the recipe and Brewcipher threw in a two-step starter suggestion - 2 Step Periodic Shaking Starter, 0.7 Quarts and 1.7 Quarts 2.3/5.6 Ounces DME, and 0.087/0.215 Grams Wyeast Yeast Nutrient Next to those measurements it says that if you don't do the starter, to use about 4 vials (for roughly 400billion cells). I'm looking at the "Yeast" book and the two step starter above doesn't seem like it would yield 400 billion cells. The 0.7 quarts and 1.7 quarts seem too small to yield enough cell growth to multiply to that many cells. I have to be reading something incorrectly? Any ideas? Thanks!
Is this for 5 gallons? If so, you don't need anywhere near 400B cells, and if BrewCipher is recommending 4 vials, it's also taking into account their age. What's the percent viability showing?
It's for 5.5 gallons into the fermenter. Ah crud, I had the vial at being 60 days from packaging date which gives it only 66% viability. The MFG date is SEP 05 2016 on this WLP051 California V so I just changed the "Days old" to 30 and the viability went up to 81%. Updated recommendation: Single Step Periodic Shaking Starter, 2.9 Quarts 9.7 Ounces DME and 0.368 grams Wyeast Yeast Nutrient or use 3.3 vials Still a bit high? I'm using the recipe from the recent Zymurgy article on Finkel and Garf's Oatmeal Milk Stout. They're saying this strain is easy to under pitch. That being said, I guess we're supposed to finish high on this one (1.028) to get a nice creamy consistency. Thanks for chiming in!
