Stuck fermentation--beyond frustrated

In general, dry yeast does not require starters. His pitching rate is consistent with the MrMalty rate, but w/o accounting for yeast freshness and loss due to not properly rehydrating.

 

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This is another example of "brew faith"...I've always heard that, but never seen a good scientific explanation of why...even though it is part of my brew ritual...I do hydrate...so I'm not a total sinner : )

Mr. malty = prophet...no pixs, please : )

 

Dry yeast doesn't (usually) require a starter because the packets (usually) have more yeast cells than you need. And if you need more, it's convenient to pitch a second pack rather than make a starter, because dry yeast is so cheap.

But the dry yeast manufacturers (at least some of them) also say that they don't recommend starters, because making a starter will mess with the perfect "ready to go" state they left the cells in before they sent them to you. IMO, this part is a bit of arm waving. Assuming you need the additional cells, I can't think of a single bad thing that will happen to dry yeast if you make a starter with it. A properly done starter should leave the propagated cells in the same "ready to go" state.

 

I'm not sure there is a scientific explanation. More of an economic one. Dry yeast packs have greater quantities of pitchable yeast than liquid packs. They are cheaper and easier to handle, so if you need more yeast, you are better off buying another packet than you are making a starter. My generalization above was probably a bad one. You should pitch the right cell count. I do tend to make a small starter with liquid yeast, regardless of cell count, just to ensure it's in good condition. I don't do this with dry yeast. So, basically, I'm a hypocrite.

 

Amen, brothers! : )

 

I had problems with extract imperial stouts fermenting out as far as my all grain stouts. I utilized mini mashes instead of steeping, varying oxygenation methods and rates, all to no avail. The big thing is that LME and DME are essentially concentrated wort that has already been produced. Mash temps come into play as does grain used for the initial mash. Once I went all grain I moved away from these problems and encounter too low FG now.