Yeast Starter

Hey guys this weekend I'll be brewing my 2nd batch of homebrew and I will be doing a yeast starter for the very 1st time. I have a 2000 mL Erlenmeyer flask and 1 lb. of pilsner DME. The guy at my local homebrew supply store told me to add 1000 mL of water and either 1 lb. or 1/2 lb. of DME. Here is my question... does that sound right and if so would you recommend I use 1 lb. or 1/2 lb. of DME?

Also I was wondering when I add the DME I won't be able to stir it because I don't have a spoon long/skinny enough for the Erlenmeyer flask. Would I be fine if I just add the DME and give it a real good shake?

1lb. of DME (or even 1/2lb.) would be way too much for 1000ml. You want to make wort of around 1.040. A good rule of thumb is 100g DME per 1000ml water. So about 3.5oz.

Head to mrmalty.com for the yeast pitch calculator. It's easy when you know your volume and gravity for the batch.

This is driving me crazy because everyone says something different. Also I'm terrible at conversions. I saw a youtube video and the guy said 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of DME. Here is the e-mail the homebrew supply guy sent me... Start with 1000mL of water and 1/2 # to 1# of DME. Boil the water for 10 mins. Cool to 65F then pitch yeast. Let sit for 24-48 hours. Agitate yeast start often. If it helps to know I'm brewing an Amber Ale and the OG is supposed to be 1.053 Basically I want it as simple as possible. If I use 1000 mL of water in my 2000 mL Erlenmeyer flask how many cups of DME should I add?

I just did my first starter a few days ago and used the amounts MaxStout quoted. Advice I received on here beforehand and what I read in the book Yeast all said the same. FWIW from another starter novice, I'd say you're good with the 100g per 1000ml ratio (or 1.030 - 1.040 gravity).

1g of DME to 10ml of water!

All my starters have been of the 1 liter variety! Boil the 1L of water, add the 100g of DME (~3.5oz by weight) of DME and boil for 10 minutes. On my stovetop, I'll lose about 100-150ml of water during that 10 minute boil, so I have a second pot of water boiling at the same time for top off water. Add the required top off water to your DME mixture, chill, and pitch!

I like 9 oz for two liters, Also what you can do is to boil some plain old bread yeast in with the DME. That is poverty yeast nutrient and works very well at growing some healthy robust yeast.

10 to 1 ratio will get you right between 1.030 and 1.040 which is what you need. So if you are making a 1L starter, add 100 grams of DME than add water to bring you to 1L. This is straight from Yeast which was written by Chris White (CEO of White Labs) and Jamil Zainasheff (very well known home brewer).

100 grams = 3.5 ounces. The only way to measure this is to use a scale.

h22lude said:

10 to 1 ratio will get you right between 1.030 and 1.040 which is what you need. So if you are making a 1L starter, add 100 grams of DME than add water to bring you to 1L. This is straight from Yeast which was written by Chris White (CEO of White Labs) and Jamil Zainasheff (very well known home brewer).

100 grams = 3.5 ounces. The only way to measure this is to use a scale.

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^THIS

Scales are cheap but if you do not have one you can boil a pot of pure water at the same time for top off water. The important part is to get between 1.030 and 1.040 so use your hydrometer or refractometer to hit that target.

Also do not worry about the temp of the starter. Being on the warm side will be better. Stir it as much as you can if you don't have a stir plate. Have a blowoff tube handy, your beer is not that big but the fermentation is going to be more vigorous.