1000 ML Yeast Starter

I'm making a 3 gallon batch of an American IPA with an OG of 1.070-1.074 on Saturday morning. Today is Wednesday and my Wyeast 1056 pack was activated last night. I want to begin my yeast starter today, but I'm unsure about the ratio of water to DME for this particular beer. I have a 1000ml glass beaker so the starter should fit that vessel.

I heard the starter should have an OG of 1.040. I'm also getting conflicting advice about the time the starter needs to "ferment" before brew day. Some say I smacked the pack too early, others say the yeast starter benefits from 2-4 days in a 65 F dark room. In closing, I do not have a stirplate but I was thinking about shaking the starter about two to three times a day to get things going. Is this a good practice?

You can start it today with no problems. Using

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

You need about a liter starter. So, you'll be doing a little less since you only have a 1000ml flask. Good rule of thumb I use for starters is: 1/2cup DME for each pint of water. A pint is close enough to 500 ml for me. Make a 750 ml starter with 3/4 cup of DME, put some sanitized aluminium foil on top and shake/swirl everytime you walk by. Since your only doing 3 gallons I would put it in the fridge on Friday (if it's done of course) and let it chill in the fridge til Saturday morning. You should be able to decant most of the starter beer and just leave your yeast behind.

Perfect, that's what I was looking for. I realized that the mrmalty calculator said 1 liter, but my flask isn't large enough.

3/4 cup DME to 750 ml water it is then!

One pound DME to one gallon water = 1.035 to 1.040

VB