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My brother is planning to brew a flanders red of some sort in a few weeks. Should a starter be done for this? He's using a wyeast smack pack in a 5ish gallon batch.

i'm guessing not, since it is a mix of bacteria and yeast and a starter might throw off the proportions?

You got it. If the pack's older or the gravity is a little higher on the beer and he doesn't feel comfortable, get a pack of US-05 or a similarly clean strain and add some of it along with the blended pack.

thanks!

looks like listening to the back catalogue of brew strong over the past months is paying off, haha

What is the "mix of bacteria and yeast" he's using?

KMcK wrote:What is the "mix of bacteria and yeast" he's using?

i will ask him this evening - or he can chime in here - but it is something from wyeast. he got noble grape to get it in with their next order.

I have a starter that has gone mouldy. Does that count?

KMcK wrote:I have a starter that has gone mouldy. Does that count?

i think that's pretty much what wyeast does, so you should probably sell it at a premium