Newb needs help in creating first Starter

Hi all...Was hoping a few of my fellow brothers/sisters could help a newb out...I have 2 batchs under my belt and im going to give Papazians Grand Cru recipe a try for my next batch...I was looking at the OG and while its higher than most I figured (based on previous posts here) that creating a starter is prob the best way to go with higher gravity recipes...One concern is that Papazians recipe calls for dry yeast but would a liquid be a better choice? (i.e White Labs WLP530 Abbey Ale) and if a liquid strain would give me a better brew whats the easiest way for a first starter??...I know its an extract but im slowly getting my feet wet by trying different styles and different ingredients before progressing to AG...Any ideas? Thanks

While many people use nothing by dry yeast and have good results, if you do choose to go liquid either with Wyeast or White Labs a starter is really going to help.

A basic rule of thumb for your basic starter is 1 cup of light or extra light dry malt extract per liter of water. You can use Mr Malty Pitching Rate Calculator to determine what size starter you need, but most of the time you will be able to get by with a 1-2L starter.

Making the starter is easy. Bring your water to a boil and then add the DME. Boil for 10-20 minutes. Then bring your wort to room temp by a cold water or ice bath. Use a sanitized flask, mason jar, etc to put the wort in and pitch the yeast. Cover with a sanitized piece of aluminum foil. Then, give it somewhere around 12-36 hours to be ready to pitch into your wort. It helps if you can keep it aerated, so regularly give it a good swirl.

Some people pitch the whole starter, some decant the liquid and pitch just the slurry. A lot of different options but that should give you a general idea for your first one.