building up a yeast starter

when building up a yeast starter, how long should you wait in between starter wort additions?

That's kind of a tough question to answer because it depends on the cell count you start with.

My general rule is when it has gone from light brown (think watery coffee) to creamy (think coffee + half and half) and creamy white yeast is settling on the bottom.

along the line of additions, I've just pressure canned 7 pint sized jars of wort. Each one is about 500mL. If I wanted to make a 2L starter and started w/ 1 500mL, would I then add 4 more 500mL of started or just bring the total volume upto 2L. Thats the part I never got.



Ender

-I'm smelling a lotta IF comming offa this plan-

Just bring the total up to 2L. I would start with 500cc, grow for 18-24hrs, add 500cc so now doubled the volume, grow another 18-24 hours and then add 1000cc and grow again for 18-24 hrs. Your yeast should double in about 18hrs - but 24 is usually more convenient for us humans.

GT

forgot to say thanks for the info. So....thanks! Also i received Jamils new book and I was going to try out the CAP. It states to use 4 liquid packs or using the conversion chart in the back of the book use a 9L starter. I havent heard of that large a starter, and dont have room to make one regardless.

My question is can I make a 2L starter, wait for it to ferment out, chill it for a few days, make another 2L starter using the yeast cake, let it ferment out, chill, decant and make a 1L starter?

Ender

-I'm smelling a lot of IF comming offa this plan-

Lagers require a bigger starter then ales. One strategy I learned from Jamil's podcasts is to brew a lower gravity beer and then repitch the yeast from the cake (not the whole thing as some do). Your low gravity beer is a big "starter". For example I brewed a 1.040 Munich Helles pitched with a 2L starter and then repitched part of that cake into a 1.071 Helles. MrMalty.com has a calculator for how much yeast slurry to use.

GT

yup lagers do require bigger starters. Dont really have the time to brew up a batch ( anyhow the cap isn't all that high of an OG) but I do have time to crack open a mason jar of starter and stick it on the stir plate, so my question remains:

can I make a 2L starter, wait for it to ferment out, chill it for a few days, make another 2L starter using the yeast cake, let it ferment out, chill, decant and make a 1L starter

Thanks,

Ender