IPA recipe feedback, pls (extract)

I can't find in this thread where that was stated. Pitching a high gravity DIPA onto a yeast cake in this situation would be perfectly fine.

What method can you use to make a starter? Stirplate?

You don't have to make a starter. You could pitch 2-3 vials of yeast, depending on the age of the vials. This may help. http://www.mrmalty.com/yeast-tools.php

 

Good point. In addition, hop oils in the fermenting wort also has a negative impact on the yeast.

 

Good point. Plus I would expect more hop matter to end up in the wort, which could affect the next beer (although I wouldn't be worried about an IIPA).

 

I'd make a starter. How big depends on the target gravity and volume of your wort (which you already know), and the freshness of your vial of yeast, which you won't know until you get it. Once you do, I recommend this calculator, specifying 'Intermittent Shaking' if you don't have a stirplate...

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

 

If this is what you are referring to, this is incorrect.

JackHorzempa stated correctly later...

 

For hop-froward beers you want to pitch yeast into the clearest wort that you can. The reason that you lose hop utilization for high gravity beers in the kettle is a HG wort has more hot break. The oils stick to it. As you chill there will also be more cold break which will strip out oils.

My comment about new brewers is that I'm making the assumption that they don't whirlpool and (if not using a plate chiller) take the time for the trub to settle out before transfer into the fermentor.

Worst case scenario is the you'll have two beer runs worth of junk and even with the best effort there would have to be trub in the yeast cake. Just my $.02 but I'd never use a yeast cake for a hoppy-beer.

FWIW my 5000ML vessel broke and I've twice used a one gallon distilled plastic jug to make a starter. The only warning is the tops don't have many threads. About a third of a turn and it's off. So I put tin foil over the top and twist it as one unit. The tin foil holds it in place.

To reiterate what others have said: With dry yeast it's advised not to make starters as they are not needed. The cells were dried at the peak of health and don't need to be buffed up. Re-hydration is highly debated and also recommend. It's said that if you pitch dry half the cells will die.

 

Good point. Not having to buy fresh yeast is not worth the risk.

 

Btw how are you calculating OG and FG (og in particular)? I think both the updated and original values are low

 

Why don't you whirlpool the trub to the centre of the kettle then siphon from the side? If you want aeration, keep the hose well above the wort level in the fermenter and it will splash (not that aeration is all that necessary for dry yeast).

 

I don't have a problem with pitching a IIPA on a whole cake from a previous beer, but it would be much better if that previous beer was about 1.040 (not 1.066) ...AND you do it about a week after brewing the first beer...but don't forget the blowoff tube!

 

kjyost has the right idea. Whirlpool and cool, then siphon off the trub rather than dump your pot. There's muck in there at somepoint or other, you need to separate it from your beer. You can do it after the boil, or give the beer lots of contact time with the trub in the fermenter. It's likely that the trub has some nutrition for yeast, but it risks contributing unwanted flavor. Plan for 6 gallons at the end of the boil, but transfer 5-5.5 by raising the bottom of your siphon an inch or so from the bottom.

Another approach that certainly isn't perfect but is better than dumping the whole kettle into the fermenter is to position a large sieve over the kettle and pour through it so that the wort is strained. But be careful not to bump the sieve while pouring, which could dump all that trub and the sieve into the wort. Happened to me and then I decided to start siphoning.

Of course everything needs to be sanitized, whether you sieve or siphon.

 

You won't need a starter that big for this beer unless you have some pretty old yeast. If you used the Mr. Malty calculator, did you select "Intermittent Shaking?" Don't select "Simple Starter" unless you really can't be bothered to swirl the flask now and then.

 

To follow up with numbers and calcs for the OG question,

DME= 45 points/pound /gallon
20L crystal= 22 points /pound/gallon

45*7.5=337.5
22*0.5=11

Total = 348.5

Assuming your target vol is 5 gal, 348.5/5=69.7 (or 1.0697 as we typically write it). So the og for the updated recipe is definitely in starter territory; just make sure you use the right OG for the pitching rate calcs.

 

And just for posterity, for the original recipe:

DME: 45ppg x 7 = 315
crystal: 22 ppg x 1.5 = 33
carapils: 32 ppg x 1 = 32
2 row: 37 ppg x 1 = 37
**(I should note that the 2 row and carapils number may not actually be that high since you were just talking about steeping)

Total=417

For 5 gallons, 417/5=83.4 or 1.083.

Numbers from here
http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-4-1.html

 

Looking at the page below (I don't have beersmith), I think it will really depend on what number they're using for ppg for steeped crystal 20L. The numbers are in the ballpark of one another, so that's probably the disconnect. They apparently use 44ppg for dme instead of 45 like I did, which brings the fg to 1.0682 vs 1.0697.

http://www.beersmith.com/Grains/Grains/GrainList.htm

Edit: someone could also check my math

 

I have beersmith on two computers and it doesn't give the exact same results on both computers*, but it's pretty darn close. Homebrewing isn't that exact a science anyway. If it's close enough, it's probably good enough.

still can't quite figure out what's different on the parameters!