Stepin up a starter in 2 days?

[bjzelectric]

Lack of planning here. I am brewing a Rye IPA(1.073) on Saturday. Its now Thursday and I just made my starter with WLP001. 2 cups water with 2/3 cup DME. I now realize that I should prob step this up being a pretty "big" beer. If I make another starter the same size tommorow and add todays to it, will that suffice? Or should I allow more time between steps? I have never made a big starter before and need advice.

 

[rsmith179]

WLP001 is my favorite yeast strain. In my experience, this strain tends to do wonderfully with starters. Each step takes me about a day or so to complete. This is also on a stirplate though. Have you noticed the starter become more and more cloudy? If so, the yeast are multiplying and you can definately step up the starter. It should be more than good to go by tomorrow.

Do you have a stirplate? If so, it will help push this starter along at a quick rate. If you don't make sure that you are swirling the starter everytime you walk past it to make sure the yeast are still in suspension and multiplying.

 

[shortyjacobs]

Since you don't want to take time to decant, what I do is start smaller, (1 L for me), then make a 2 L batch of wort the next day with a 1.060 gravity, (half again as much DME). Then I dump the whole 1 L into the 2L for a total of 3L with a gravity of around 1.040 again, (not really, but whatever)...I figure this way I get ALL the yeast, but still give them plenty of sugar in "stage two".

With a stir plate, I can make a starter Thursday, add to 2 L of wort Friday (for 3 L total), and Saturday by noon it's fermented out, (the second step goes fast, I think because the yeast is already active from the first step, and I "pitch" everything). By 2 pm, it's cold crashed enough to decant and use. By 4 pm it's warmed up and ready to pitch. By 7 PM my carboy is blowing off