how much yeast

[stee41]

following Orfys Boddingtons to the recipe but on reading Graham wheelers book, he often suggests using considerably more yeast than the 5gm packs you get from brew shops, so I have made a 24gm SO4 starter 24 hours before I start to brew, whats the opinion on this will I be fine, would hate to end up with yeast bite!

 

[Aleman]

5g Packets of yeast are the bear minimum required , and really should be considered under pitching. . . unfortunately you can't tell most manufacturers that (I think Clive at Brupacks did listen for his top of the range kits).

The Mr Malty Pitching rate Calculator gives you a good idea of the minimum amount of yeast you should be pitching.

Yeast Bite - I suspect was down to the quality of yeasts available at the time (plus somewhat questionable practices recommended by brewing authors), and is very poorly described and attributed to a variety of causes . . . but consider varieties of wines that are matured sur lie (Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur lie comes to mind) these are often delicate white wines that are matured in bulk on the yeast sediment for months . . . no evidence of yeast bite in them.

I think what often becomes described as yeast bite is actually leaving the wine in contact with the break proteins (That brown scummy ring/head that forms at the top of the fermenter) for an extended period (>3-4 weeks) and has nothing to do with yeast at all.

As for making a starter with 24g of SO4 . . . no need and is pointless . . . that amount of yeast will have chewed up the available sugar within an hour or two and is then sitting around waiting for more sugar to come along . . . possibly going dormant. . . . Rehydrate the yeast 30 minutes before pitching in plain (dechlorinated) cooled boiled tap water . . . but never use a sugar/malt extract solution.

 

[stee41]

Brilliant Aleman, just what I was looking for, great advice, thanks a lot! :