Am I just getting greedy now?

So my 2000ml flask was not cutting it. I found a larger flask and bought it because the price was right, never intending to use the whole thing.

Wow...wish you were my neighbor!!!

Some of my batches of beer are smaller than your starter.

Is someone over compensating for something? Joking of course. So I'm curious what you're brewing that requires that large of a starter? I could definitely see myself moving up to a 5000ml flask but that thing is ridiculous. Also does your stir plate have any issues with it and what size stir bar do you use?

some sort of lager?

I stopped buying DME a year ago. For yeast starters these days I do a tiny stovetop mash for 30 minutes, sparge through a colander and 5 minute boil. It would break my heart to burn through all that DME only to dump the resulting "beer" down the sink. If I even needed to make a single stage starter that large (20ish servings of beer) I would add hops, specialty grains and leave it off the stir plate (and drink it!). Cheers!

mrkrausen said:

Is someone over compensating for something? Joking of course. So I'm curious what you're brewing that requires that large of a starter? I could definitely see myself moving up to a 5000ml flask but that thing is ridiculous. Also does your stir plate have any issues with it and what size stir bar do you use?

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This was the same price as the 5000 ml and is pyrex and has a flat bottom as well.

I did not intend to go this big, but I miscalculated my mix and had a too high OG and needed to add some more water to get down to a stater OG.

I am looking to start ramping up the production line. 2 12 gallon batches this week, 2 more next week. I make a larger than needed starter to save some for my next batch. I plan on brewing 40 gallons from this one test tube of yeast. Wishing DME was cheaper though.

Where did you buy the flask?

bigbeergeek said:

I stopped buying DME a year ago. For yeast starters these days I do a tiny stovetop mash for 30 minutes, sparge through a colander and 5 minute boil. It would break my heart to burn through all that DME only to dump the resulting "beer" down the sink. If I even needed to make a single stage starter that large (20ish servings of beer) I would add hops, specialty grains and leave it off the stir plate (and drink it!). Cheers!

Click to expand...

I too am concerned about the waste of DME and hate pouring money or beer down the sink. Tell me more about the stopover mash. Can you drain off some wort during a brew for the next starter? Can you preserve this for a day, week or month for next time you need a starter? I was under the impression that wort is just waiting to go off on its own with some wild yeast the moment it cools.

My LHBS told me to just add the whole thing to the wort, I assume they are making smaller starters.

My thoughts on making the most of the starter:

1. Factoring in the starter volume and alcohol and adjust grain bill to come up with a desired final beer result when I added the entire stater to the wort.
   
2. Chilling the starter for a day, preserving the decanted fluids which will still have yeast and decant and use this for a small beer.

RoundKid said:

Where did you buy the flask?

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Hydrobrew in Oceanside CA.

It is a 10,000 ml pyrex carboy. The 5000 ml Erlenmeyer and it were $40. The 4000 ml Erlenmeyer was $54. Seemed like a no brainer.

The only problem is chilling the container to decant. Until I put a 5th fridge in the house (not going to happen) I have no place to fit a container this size. I plan on pouring this starter off into every quart or liter sized container I have.

I'm jealous. My 5L flask barely cuts it for some of my bigger beers.