Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager Yeast

[Kronos]

In the next couple of weeks I am going to be brewing a Dortmunder Export Lager from the 'Home Brew Beer' book (p86) and for the yeast it states to use Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager.

I have just ordered all the ingredients but failed to notice that the yeast is an Wyeast 2124 Bohemian activator yeast.

I have never used an activator yeast before, is this ok to use for the brew I am making?

 

[DoctorMick]

https://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_productdetail.cfm?ProductID=16

I think most of the WYeast packs are called activators, it just means you can whack them and pitch directly. I'd still make a starter personally as they don't always arrive fresh.

 

[Simonh82]

If you are brewing a lager you will definitely want to make decent sized starter.

The activator wakes up the yeast and provides them with nutrients but if you are fermenting at lager temperature you will need a big starter to make sure there is enough yeast to complete the fermentation in the cold hostile conditions.

I would use a yeast starter calculator like the one at brew united to find out the size of starter needed. You may need to step it up if the yeast isnt fresh or you don't have a large vessel for your starter.