I am brewing the MoreBeer! Pliny the elder extract clone tomorrow. Very excited to give this beer a try! When I ordered it I forgot to get two packs of Wyeast American II yeast. I don’t have the means to make a starter at this point. I do have an extra Safale US-05 that I could use along with the Wyeast or should I just use the Wyeast? I will be keeping this in my primary fermenter for 2 weeks and then transferring it to the secondary for dry hopping. If I use the two yeast packs do I have to worry about blowing the lid off my fermenter? I could just make a blowoff tube with my siphon tube. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
There really is not a lot of equipment required to make a starter. I use a half gallon growler and a bit of DME. I use about 5oz of dme in 3.5 cups of water. bring it to a boil for 5-10 minutes, cool, add to growler, pitch yeast and cover with foil. Shake it whenever I remember.
The OG is 1.070 - 1.074. I will see if there is something I can do a starter in but I just filled my growler today haha. Would pitching the Safale and Wyeast together work well? I also don’t have any extra DME or LME for a starter…
I agree, make a starter if you can. Yet, I’ve heard from several people that US-05 and Wyeast 1056 are the same strain, so maybe you could just pitch both and be OK. You may want to check w/ a yeast calculator like http://www.mrmalty.com/. I’ve never done this before, so I couldn’t tell you exactly how it would turn out.
As for transferring to a secondary to dry hop, you can skip this step. Just throw your dry hops into your primary. I dry hop my pale ales and IPAs in my primary all the time and they come out great. I usually go 2-3 weeks then dry hop for 5-7 days and keg after that.
Yea I have read that they are the same strain as well so that is why I was wondering if it would be OK. I will give it a try and see what happens. Next order I make (No LHBS) I will make sure I get the necessary equipment for a starter. The main reason I will be switching to secondary is to free up my primary fermentation bucket for my next beer (Summer Wheat IPA). Thanks for the help guys!
The only issue I see is that WY1272 is not WY1056, so not the same strain as US-05, I think it might work out, but I don’t know enough about yeast to be sure.
WY1056 and Us-05 may have come from the same source (and no one knows that for sure) but there are differences in the beer that each produces. Not to mention that you have 1272, not 1056! You don’t need a growler or flask to make a starter…a glass or plastic gal. jug from milk, apple juice, or wine works fine. You will need some extract. You may be able to find a beverage called Malta Goya, which is pretty much like wort, and use that for your starter if you can’t get extract. Worst case, pitch the 1272 and 05…although I’ve had great luck in beers of that strength with just a pack of 05.
I was wondering why folks were talking about 1056…anyway, I would just rehydrate and pitch the Safale. Save your 1272 for another batch and make a starter.
I also have another Safale US-05 coming either Friday or Monday with some ingredients I got for a DFH 90 Minute so I could always add some of that when it gets here. I would wait for that to come but tomorrow is the best day for me to brew because of work.
I know it’s just difficult when you order everything online and have a little oversight. Do you suggest not brewing or do you think I will be fine with one US-05?
If it’s 1.070, then you will need about 250 billion cells or 14 gms of rehydrated yeast. Which equates to 1.25 packs of dry yeast. In this case, wait until you get more yeast then brew the beer.
I have found my solution. I will brew my Summer Wheat IPA How To Brew an American IPA (3 Recipes & Complete Style Guide!) using the Wyeast tomorrow and then I will wait until I get the US-05 and brew the Pliny next week. (Trying to brew once a week for as long as possible) Will two packets of the Safale US-05 blow the top off my fermenter?
IIRC, you can make and pitch a started in as little as 18 hours, according to “Yeast” by White and Zainasheff. “Most starters … reach their maximum cell density within 12 to 18 hours.Low iunnoculation rates and low temps can extend that time out to 36 hours or more, but the bulk of the growth will be complete within 24 hours.” Make it now, pitch in 24 hours.
True, but you could just pitch the whole thing. (Pause for the purists to gasp in dismay) Plain DME with no hops doesn’t really add a whole lot of flavor change…Something to do in a pinch. I would wait a day or two and brew when the starter is ready…
I just transferred one to my secondary. OG 1.086 1.015 in to the secondary that makes a ABV 9.45. It was in the primary 16 days. Used 2 packs of rehydrated US-05. It tastes pretty good and it’s not even dry hopped yet.