clarification on "big starters"

[wheatgerm]

When people reference "big starters", like in the 3.5 liter to 1 gallon+ range, does that mean that you have to actually use a gallon sized jug for your starter vessel? I'd rather use my 1.5 liter cider jug and just step up twice, decanting between each step up. Would that work just as well?

I'd rather avoid having to build a second, larger stir plate.

 

[jldc]

You could just make two 1.5 liter starters. Chill one for a day or two while you're making the second.

 

[jaba]

When people reference "big starters", like in the 3.5 liter to 1 gallon+ range, does that mean that you have to actually use a gallon sized jug for your starter vessel? I'd rather use my 1.5 liter cider jug and just step up twice, decanting between each step up. Would that work just as well?

I'd rather avoid having to build a second, larger stir plate.

Yeah, that works fine. I have made several 3+ Liter starters using this method. I make my initial 1 or 1.5L starter, let that ferment out, crash it out in the fridge, decant the "beer" (let the starter warm back up to room temp) and then add a fresh batch of wort until I reach my desired volume.

 

[a10t2]

To optimize your use of starter wort, you'd actually increase the volume in stages. According to the Wyeast calculator, for example, doing a 800 mL starter, decanting, and pitching into a 1.6 L starter will grow the same amount of yeast as a single-stage 3 L starter, but use only 2.4 L of wort. My rule of thumb is to at least double the volume at each stage.

 

[wheatgerm]

Thanks for the info.