Yeast pitch amounts - Help! MR. Malty??

According to Mr. Malty I need a 2.21 Liters starter for the recipe below. This seems HUGE compared to others that I've done.

The recipe calls for 1/2 Wheat DME and 16 oz for a 5.5 gallon batch

It's a heffe - OG 1052. No stir plate....just shaking frm time to time.

What should I do?

Yep, you got it. It's called "the walk by method". Mine sits on the kitchen counter top with a piece of foil on top. Everytime I walk by I give it a little shake.

Seems like a freaking huge starter J-dub. Any ill effects from making one with 9 cups vs. 2?

4.2 US Cups = 1 liter. So 8 to 9 US Cups would get you to your 2.21 Liter starter. No ill effects unless you count faster fermentation and better fermentation as ill.

I know it seems like a lot based on the instructions you were originally given. If your worried you can always decant the liquid off of the yeast bed.

Should I use the 1/2 cup DME or just 1/4?

That's a tougher question. Do you have a kitchen scale? Essentially you want 100 grams of DME for each liter of starter. It's a lot easier to be able to measure it in grams than cups.

I found this conversion chart that might be helpful:

U.S. CUPS TO GRAMS

All-Purpose Flour and Confectioners' Sugar

1/8 cup = 15 grams
1/4 cup = 30 grams
1/3 cup = 40 grams
3/8 cup = 45 grams
1/2 cup = 60 grams
5/8 cup = 70 grams
2/3 cup = 75 grams
3/4 cup = 85 grams
7/8 cup = 100 grams
1 cup = 110 grams

The above info seems about right. 100g of DME is approx a cup. Definitely close enough for making starters.

Het shooter, how did the single decoction experiment go?