Yeast Starter

Try using the brewers friend calculator. It allows a little more flexibility than mrmalty including multi step starters.

 

Zainasheff/White wrote the book (Yeast) on how to make stepped starters . . . and their lame calculator (Mr Malty) ignores this process. Use Brewers Friend or yeastcalculator.com or Brewcipher (they all pretty much are the same), they easily show how to step a starter.

You didn't ask, but two steps of 2L is not the optimum approach. Ideally you want to try and keep the innoculation rate at 40 million cells/ml or above (Vikeman says 25). This is shown in the calc, so it's easy to adjust. That's why you normally see the size of the starters increase each step. Pitching a small quantity (three months old) of active cells into 2L is an inefficient approach. Also, yeast do not grow linearly, i.e. 2L + 2L ≠ 4L.

EDIT: 3944 is a monster when it gets going . . . give yourself plenty of headspace.

 

Wait... three step for 1046??

Even with a viability of 25% (according to brewers friend) for a Feb 1st pack of yeast, you should be able to just do a 2 liter starter @ 1040 and get the required cell count.

EDIT: No stir plate? I honestly just always use the Braukaiser - Stirplate model, so I didn't even bother to check with the other models.

 

You can pitch lower than 40 million cells/ml, it's just inefficient. Play with the calc some, you'll see where initially .70L gives 90B, where 2L only gives 135B . . . you triple the size but only get 50% more cells (that's the inefficient part). The larger size will work, it will cost you more DME. If you have a stir-plate you can reach the goal easier. Ideally you would do something like 0.7L, then 1.5L, then 2.0L which would give you ~425B cells . . . that's 325B for your brew and 100B to save for the next round.

Also, I would not put more than 1.5L of 3944 in a 3L flask, even then I would put a big rag underneath.

 

No, I didn't and I also do 10 gallons (roughly 11 into the fermenter actually).

I just assumed you might be doing the more standard 10.5 after boil. Brewersfriend says you'll need 341 billion cells into 10.5 gallons of 1046 wort. I tend to make my starters anywhere between 1036-40.

Yes, because your yeast pack is older at this point, the innoculation rate is quite low and as PortLargo stated, I suppose that is completely ineffcient, but a 2 L starter @ 1040 should yield 344 billion cells. This is using the Braukaiser - Stirplate model.

But you don't have a stirplate, so everything I said is moot, lol.

 

A two liter flask is mighty good, but you'll be hard pressed to put more than 1.5'ish liters in it. Here's 1.5L in a 3L flask:

From Wyeast: This strain is a true top cropping yeast requiring full fermenter headspace of 33%. If planning on a 2L step you might want the gal container.

 

Yeah, that 1 gallon container might be safest. I have a 5L flask and use it for every starter and some yeast still blow off right to the top and out on that second step even with chilling and decanting the first step liquid off.

By the way, 4 liters = 1 gallon, so if you are not decanting, even that container will be full.

 

Another experienced brewer, I believe, his name is Kai Troester. I think Kaiser is his handle over on HBT and he has this wiki you may have stumbled across - http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php

Brewers Friend references this page - http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2012/10/08/yeast-growth-experiments-some-early-results/

Is he also affiliated with Brewers Friend? I have no idea.

I've seen people complain that Mr. Malty's calc might be just a bit too aggressive, but honestly I think I prefer the braukaiser model simply because it gives me the best bang for my buck. I'm taking it's numbers on faith of course.

 

Kai Troester maintains a homebrewing blog my that name.

I think this information is that you seek:

http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2012/11/03/estimating-yeast-growth/

Cheers!

 

I was just reading through the comments (worth skimming), which despite the original post being from 2012, go into 2015. At the end he actually posted his presentation from 2013 NHC if anyone is interested - http://braukaiser.com/documents/Troester_NHC_2013_Step_Up_Your_Starter.pdf

 

I attended Kai's presentation in 2013. It was an interesting presentation and after the presentation he generously further talked with me for about 15 minutes. I peppered him with questions and he answered 90+ percent of my questions. Kai is a very, very smart fellow!!

Cheers!

 

I was at that conference too! Unfortunately back then, I was a little too cheap to pay for anything other than the general admission. Wish I had attended some of the presentations.

 

The presentations are the highlight of NHCs for me. The social aspects (Club Night, Craft Beer Night,...) are good too!

Will you be attending this year's Homebrew Con (Minneapolis)?

Cheers!