Lalbrew New England Yeast
Have any of you used Lalbrew East Coast/New England yeast? I’m making a 1.090 NEIPA and their calculator is saying to pitch 5 packs for a 6.5 gallon batch? That can’t be right, can it? Why would they sell an an individual pack that’s not sufficient for a single batch?
- 15 Replies
I made a great hazy with this yeast and I didn’t use a starter. I bought the 500g brick of it because I like to make hazy/juicy IPAs pretty regularly and I always use this yeast. I just pitch the amount recommended by Lalbrew. I never make a starter with dry yeast – that’s the best part about using dry yeast in the first place.
I get that you don’t want to make a starter, but direct pitching isn’t the best way either. It is recommended by all of these dry yeast manufacturers to rehydrate dry yeast to obtain the highest cell count. Pitched dry you’ll get 6B~8B cells per gram, rehydrated you’ll get approximately 20B cells per gram.
What would the perfect amount be? Like, when you’re grabbing some from your bulk yeast, how much do you add?
It depends on the OG of your recipe – I am guessing you’d be fine with 2 packs, though. maybe 3 if you’re over 7-8%
You definitely don’t need to pitch 5 packs – that would be a waste. I recommend you use 2 packs and make a starter. Obviously the pitch amount depends on your starting gravity, but if you’re worried that you’re underpitching, grow up your cell counts the day before by adding to some DME and water, or using a pre-made starter like Propper Starter. I’ve been using that method for a over a year now, and fermentation really takes off quickly with little off flavor. This yeast is a work-horse!
Thanks Jim! I have not made a starter before – it always intimidated me. I have only just put the yeast in the beer right from the packet.
It’s not hard at all. Just make sure you sanitize everything and you’ll be fine. If you’re really worried, use a pre-made starter like Propper Starter. That’s what I use and it works great.
I really don’t think he needs a starter for this. Even commercial breweries dry pitch yeast like this.
Creating a starter is VERY easy and ensures that there’s sufficient yeast to not be stressed in a high-sugar wort. If you underpitch it stresses the yeast and gives off flavors. Why would you risk the quality of the beer to avoid such an easy thing?
I can personally attest to this, I’ve been professionally brewing since the 90s and have not ever used a starter.
I’ve not used this strain of yeast however I have used their Philly sour yeast and don’t use a starter.
Agreed – isn’t one of the main benefits of modern dry yeast that you can direct pitch it? I don’t think I’ve ever even rehydrated dry yeast prior to pitching. I’m not an expert by any means, but I don’t think I’d go through the hassle of a starter with dry yeast.
Just pitch 2 packs, you’ll be fine.
Without knowing the OG? If he underpitches it’s going to stress the yeast and hurt the quality of the beer.
I’ve gone 2 packs at 7% ABV without concern. You can go 3 if you want to play safe. I’m not saying pitching rates don’t matter and I’m not saying starters are pointless – I’m just saying that he should be fine with a couple of packs here. RDWHAHB.
Fair enough! I still think he’d be best off with a starter and I don’t feel they are difficult at all, but I agree that at the point that homebrewing becomes stressful, it’s time to take a step back on it.
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