Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:49 pm
Think about it this way, dry yeast has between 15 and 20 billion cells per gram. With an 11g sachet, you should have somewhere near 200 billion cells. One smack pack or WL vial has about 100 billion cells and should inoculate an average ale on its own. For most beers, one sachet is way more yeast than you need let alone adding in the starter factor. In fact, they say that if you add it to a starter you are wasting the glycogen reserves that the mfgr had worked so hard to build up. By the proper amount of dry yeast and pitch (after rehydrating). Now, if you are way overpitching, maybe don't rehydrate so you actually kill off some of the cells?!?
With liquid yeast, it is much more susceptible to being weak, old, poorly treated so it makes more sense to "wake them up" in a starter. Plus you don't have that sweet glycogen reserve. At least, that is what the pope has said.
On Tap: Dark Mild (x2), Honey Hefe
Fermenting: A.Bastard Clone, Wee Heavy, S/70, Eng. Barleywine
On Deck: ?