Making a 2L Starter

[Cacaman]

Hey, this is the first time making a starter, and I need to make a 2L starter. My first question is, should I just mix all 2L of the wort in with the yeast, and let the stir plate run for a few days? Or should I make 1L, wait a day, then add another 1L to the mix?

Also, http://www.yeastcalc.com says that since my yeast date is Feb 7, 2012 I will probably need a 3L starter now since only about 50% is viable at this point. Will I be okay with a 2L starter? Or should I just buy another pack of yeast at the expense of paying $8 shipping

 

[Golddiggie]

You could do one 1.5L starter, let it complete, cold crash, decant, and add another 1.5-2L of [chilled] starter wort on top of the yeast cake in the flask. Let it go to completion (usually 24 hours on the stirplate for me), cold crash and then decant just before you pitch into the ready brew wort. Just make sure you let the starter/yeast slurry get close to room temp, or closer to the chilled wort temperature before you pitch it in.

 

[Cacaman]

That's a good idea, but my biggest glass container is 1/2 gallon jug (approx. 2L). Unless I can use something else to act as my starter container? Any ideas?

 

[Stauffbier]

Hey, this is the first time making a starter, and I need to make a 2L starter. My first question is, should I just mix all 2L of the wort in with the yeast, and let the stir plate run for a few days? Or should I make 1L, wait a day, then add another 1L to the mix?

Also, http://www.yeastcalc.com says that since my yeast date is Feb 7, 2012 I will probably need a 3L starter now since only about 50% is viable at this point. Will I be okay with a 2L starter? Or should I just buy another pack of yeast at the expense of paying $8 shipping

If it was me I'd go back to Yeastcalc and come up with a step-up schedule. You might get away with a 1L initial starter and then a 1-1.5L step-up. What's the OG of the batch?

 

[Cacaman]

1.077 (Stone Ruination Clone)
Edit: 5.00 Gallon Batch

 

[Stauffbier]

According to yeastcalc you need 264 billion cells. It says you can start with a 750ml starter and then step it up with 1L and you'll have 271 billion cells

 

[Cacaman]

Ok so essentially I would do exactly what Golddiggie said.
1. Make a 750mL starter, let it finish. Cold crash, decant.
2. Add another 1L of chilled wort on top of the yeast cake.
3. Let it sit for 24 hours on stir plate, cold crash, decant, then let it sit until room temp reached, and pitch to ready beer wort?

 

[Stauffbier]

Ok so essentially I would do exactly what Golddiggie said.
1. Make a 750mL starter, let it finish. Cold crash, decant.
2. Add another 1L of chilled wort on top of the yeast cake.
3. Let it sit for 24 hours on stir plate, cold crash, decant, then let it sit until room temp reached, and pitch to ready beer wort?

Exactly!
I also add about 1cup of fresh wort to the decanted yeast when I start my boil on brew day. It "wakes them up" and gets them active. This I will pitch without decanting the 1cup of wort. It's sort of like pitching at "high krausen". I get very quick starting fermentation this way..

 

[Cacaman]

Nice tip! I'll definitely try that.
Just one more question (that leads to another, which leads to another ) : About how long will it take for the first 750mL starter to finish? 24 hours? For that matter, how do I know when each step is ready for the next, or ready to pitch? Is 24 hrs a good rule of thumb for stepping up and/or pitching?

Thanks again!

 

[Stauffbier]

I usually go 24 hours on my stirplate for a 1L starter. The 750ml might finish in 18-20 hrs or even less, but you could probably leave it for 24hrs as well. I cold crash about 8-12 hours between decanting (this can vary depending on yeast strain). Bring it back to room temp before stepping up again. Try to keep the temp of the yeast and wort within 10*F of each other. I bring it out of the fridge about 6 hours before pitching on brewday.

 

[Cacaman]

Thanks for the tips!!

 

[Stauffbier]

Thanks for the tips!!

You're welcome! You'll be making starters all the time once you get the hang of it. When I buy liquid yeast I build starters for a few days to split up in 3 or 4 jars. Then I use one jar to make another starter for my current batch and save the others for future batches. It's like getting 4 vials for the price of one, and if you count washing yeast it's way more than that!

 

[Cacaman]

You're welcome! You'll be making starters all the time once you get the hang of it. When I buy liquid yeast I build starters for a few days to split up in 3 or 4 jars. Then I use one jar to make another starter for my current batch and save the others for future batches. It's like getting 4 vials for the price of one, and if you count washing yeast it's way more than that!

I'd like to try this in the future. What is your method of doing this? Do you make one big starter and then split it up into 4 jars, or do you make 4 individual starters with a portion of the liquid yeast for each starter?

 

[Stauffbier]

I'd like to try this in the future. What is your method of doing this? Do you make one big starter and then split it up into 4 jars, or do you make 4 individual starters with a portion of the liquid yeast for each starter?

I will make a 1.5L starter with one vial. Then cold crash. The next morning I decant the spent wort and pour half of the yeast into a jar and top it off with sterile water. Cap it, put the date and yeast strain on the lid and save it. I then make another 1.5L starter with the half of the yeast that I left in the starter container and repeat the process. The next day I do it a third time but with 2L of wort, and split it again. At this point I'll have 4 jars. Some with a little more yeast than others. I then choose one of the jars to make my final starter for my batch of brew.

The way I determine how much yeast I have in a jar is by multiplying 1.2 billion cells per ml of yeast slurry. So if I have 30ml of yeast in one jar, that would be; 1.2X30=36 billion cells. This is the number you enter under "Initial Cell Count (billions)" On YeastCalc along with the date that you made the starter.