1st lager yeast starter

[sictransit701]

I am planning a doppelbock. My O.G. is 1078. Yeast is WLP833. It is my first lager. How big of a starter do I need? I have a 2L flask and a stir plate. What is the processs for stepping up a starter? What are some techniques you guys use? Thanks!

 

[YeastHerder]

I like to do my starter about 10-14 days ahead of brew day so that I can cold crash the yeast down to the bottom, siphon off the 'icky' starter beer, add my fresh lager wort to resuspend the yeast, and then pitch. I like the extra lead time because if something isn't going right I have time to fix it too.

I call the starter beer icky because I actually tried bottling it, letting it CO2 carb up like a proper beer and drinking it -- yes thats right totally unhopped yeast starter from DME. It wasn't the worst beer I ever tasted, and it was far better than I thought it would be, but it still earns 'icky' and so I avoid adding any more of that starter beer to my carefully brewed lagers than I must.

 

[waldoar15]

You need a 5L flask or a gallon jug.

 

[YeastHerder]

Oh right I didn't quite hit your question. I do a 3 qt starter in a 1 gal jug and am probably a bit on the low side of pitch rate even with that. You'll need to cold crash, siphon off the starter beer, then add fresh starter and let it go again. How many times you have to repeat that depends on how much liquid your flask can hold without blowing over -- or buy a 1 gal jug.

 

[RPh_Guy]

People have good results fermenting lagers warm with certain strains, which only requires ale pitch rates.

...If that's something that interests you:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/warm-fermented-lager-thread.592169/