Double Growler Starter.

I am soon to brew my first 10 gallon batch, and I need to obviously double my starter size for the most part.

I have been growing my starters in 1/2 gallon growlers, and I would like to know the best way to make a ~1 gallon starter between 2 growlers.

Would I be better of to make a ~2 liter starter in one growler, and once that starter has been on the stir plate for about 24 hours pour half into my second growler and then step each starter up again to ~2 liters?

FWIW, I only have 1 stir plate right now. My LHBS wants a good chunk of change for a 5000 liter flask.

Stick the first starter in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Gremlyn1 said:

Stick the first starter in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

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I apologize, I wasn't clear on my statements or questions, I want to be able to do this with a single vial of WL, or a single jar of washed yeast, I want to avoid using 2 vials, or 2 washed jars if possible.

My thoughts were to grow one, split it in half, and then step them both back up to 2 liters and let them ferment out, then chill and decant.

I think I'm making it too complicated, I'll probably buy a 1 gallon growler, or the 5000 Liter flask, make my life less complicated!

Buy a $6 bottle of carlo-rossi and dump it out.

Yeah, definitely less hassle to get a bigger vessel.

I'm guessing that if you pour off some into growler #2, then add more wort to growler #1, you'll be making more yeast than you need in growler #1.

Without some super-sciencey equipment, you're not really going to know how much you should pour into #2 and how much #1 will need to grow back. What if you split the WLP vial from the beginning? Start with 1qt of starter in each growler, and then 3 days later add 1 more quart to each? I think this has a good chance of building the right amount of yeast, even if you mess up a little in splitting the vial.

RC0032 said:

Buy a $6 bottle of carlo-rossi and dump it out.

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Thats a great idea, since I only have one stir plate I think it is the better decision.