Yeast Starter in Steps

[cookmic5]

I'm planning my first big beer (OG 1.109). I've been researching the different ways to get the right amount of yeast and I think I'm going to go with a multi-step yeast starter. I understand that you can generally increase the yeast population by increasing the size of the starter between 5-10 time the prior size. But what happens if you keep it the same? So, for example, suppose I make a 1.5 liter starter. Then cold crash it and decant. If I add another 1.5 liters to it, will that increase the yeast population?

I'm asking because I have a 2 liter flask and would like to keep that as my vessel for the starter if possible (for simplicity's sake).


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[chickypad]

There will be diminishing returns as the innoculation rate increases with each step, but you should still get some significant growth on that second step I would think. I find yeastcalc the best calculator for multi step starters.

 

[flars]

Look at the growth rate in the YeastCalc calculator as you input numbers for wort volumes. Brewers Friend has a similar calculator.