When you say "Big Starter"...

...how big is it exactly? The last two batches I made had an OG around 1.058 and I created a starter using 1/2cup DME and 1 pint of water. Both batches have started vigorously fermenting in under 24 hours.

The next beer I'm doing will have an OG of around 1.08 so I'm wondering if I should up the amount of DME and water that is used in the starter to make a "Big" or "Huge" starter. If so, how much DME and water should be used?

It's not all THAT important, but I typically go with 2L of water and 6-9 oz of extract, depending on the gravity of the wort I'm pitching into.

Here's a great web tool that will figure it all out for you:
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Man, that online calculator says I should use a little more then a 1/2 gallon for a starter. That's pretty big.

BNVince said:

Man, that online calculator says I should use a little more then a 1/2 gallon for a starter. That's pretty big.

Click to expand...

That is roughly equal to orfy's 2L starter...

BNVince said:

Man, that online calculator says I should use a little more then a 1/2 gallon for a starter. That's pretty big.

Click to expand...

Just remember that these are theoretical 'optimum' sizes. In practice, you can often do as well or nearly as well with somewhat smaller starters.

Regardless, the first purpose of the starter is to ensure the vitality of your yeast. The secondary purpose might be to propagate the yeast for a higher-gravity beer (hence the larger starter sizes). But if you oxygenate your starters really well, the yeast can perform a lot/all of the necessary propagation in your brew for most beers.

I tend to pitch 2L starters at 1.035 for pretty much every batch. No harm, and it makes for some great fermentation.

-D

Thanks for all your help everybody.

I made a starter a few days ago with 2 Pints of water and 1 cup of DME. I pitched it Yesterday at 1p.m. to a big stout I made. 8 hours later the airlock was going crazy.

Since I have to keep my record of at least one crazy thing happening for each brew, I checked on it this morning and the airlock was completely filled with krausen and beer. A little beer had spilled on to the lid. I cleaned the lid and airlock as best as I could and put them back on. Hopefully when I get home the airlock is not filled again.

I guess it's time to get a 6.5 gallon carboy and a blowoff for primary fermenting. Live and learn.