2L vs 1L Yeast Starter

I've been using a 1 Liter yeast starter kit since I started home brewing. I'm still brewing extracts but plan to make the jump to all grain next month. My question is, when would I use a 2 liter yeast starter kit? I usually brew Amber and Brown Ales. I do plan to brew heavier beers in the future.

Wester_Brewery said:

I've been using a 1 Liter yeast starter kit since I started home brewing. I'm still brewing extracts but plan to make the jump to all grain next month. My question is, when would I use a 2 liter yeast starter kit? I usually brew Amber and Brown Ales. I do plan to brew heavier beers in the future.

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Just depends on your OG. Skit the kit though. Just get a nice 2L (or larger) flask and a stir plate.

Yeah, the stir plate is my next investment. With a 2L flask, what should I do to determine how much water/DME to use for each style?

I weigh out three ounces of dme per 1000ml...easy

100 grams per 1000 mL = 1.040. There are about 28.6 grams per ounce (eh?), so 3.5 oz per 1000 mL.

Cheers!

also, check out
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Check this out.

http://www.yeastcalc.com/index.html

Mr Malty seems to be the yeast calculator of choice. I like The Yeast Calculator because they give you step options. If MM does, I missed it.

If you don't want to build your own stir plate this is for you! Should be getting mine Monday. I have done maybe 10-15 starters without a plate and curios to see what a stir plate can do.
http://www.stirstarters.com/

Dan said:

Check this out.

http://www.yeastcalc.com/index.html

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Great link Dan, thanks

As stated already each beer really requires a different sized starter based on its original gravity (OG). Mrmalty.com or Yeastcalc.com have good information.

Get a digital food scale, about $20. 10 grams DME to 100ml of wort. So a 1L starter needs 100 grams of DME, a 1.6L or 1600ml starter needs 160 grams etc. Pretty simple.

I still have good luck with one liter starters

MilesLong said:

Great link Dan, thanks

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You're welcome. The homebrewing knowledge available online to us new guys is amazing!

mux said:

If you don't want to build your own stir plate this is for you! Should be getting mine Monday. I have done maybe 10-15 starters without a plate and curios to see what a stir plate can do.
http://www.stirstarters.com/

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That's a great product! I really like mine. I'll probably pick up another one soon (with the 2L flask), as I'm doing 10 gallon batches mostly these days...

^^^ I bought a stir plate from him. Wasn't expensive as others I found and works perfectly; I'm pretty sure he included a lifetime guarantee on them.

my $.02, get the biggest flask you can. i have a 2L fisher flask, and i use it a lot, but i also find myself using 1 gal jugs for any starter over 1.75L or so. if you get into lagers, you'll need even bigger starters.

Dan said:

^^^ I bought a stir plate from him. Wasn't expensive as others I found and works perfectly; I'm pretty sure he included a lifetime guarantee on them.

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Yep, and he tells you how to build them on his website if you'd rather DIY.

NordeastBrewer77 said:

my $.02, get the biggest flask you can. i have a 2L fisher flask, and i use it a lot, but i also find myself using 1 gal jugs for any starter over 1.75L or so. if you get into lagers, you'll need even bigger starters.

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Agreed. While you'll get "activity" with a 1L starter, you're not really building your cell count up that much, which may lead to under pitching.

mux said:

If you don't want to build your own stir plate this is for you! Should be getting mine Monday. I have done maybe 10-15 starters without a plate and curios to see what a stir plate can do.
http://www.stirstarters.com/

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Using one of my two as I type!! They're truly great, as is Dan, the dude who makes them. 100% lifetime guarantee? C'mon!

Great information! Thanks for all of your help!

AZ_IPA said:

Agreed. While you'll get "activity" with a 1L starter, you're not really building your cell count up that much, which may lead to under pitching.

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totally. i always consult MrMalty for starter size, then round up to the nearest 100ml. last time i tried a starter over 1.6 or so L in my 2L flask, i gave it a good swirl and ssssssssssss went ~100 ml of active, yeasty wort all over my kitchen table. i go with the gal jugs now for a lot of my starters.

That literally just happened to me! I don't have a stir plate so I swirl my flask. Just a little swirl game me an overflow. Ha ha, thats a good sign right?

Wester_Brewery said:

That literally just happened to me! I don't have a stir plate so I swirl my flask. Just a little swirl game me an overflow. Ha ha, thats a good sign right?

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it is a good sign, but a double edged one. it means your yeast is nice and active, but it also means you just lost some. usually not a real big deal as pitch rates are estimated and not exact. when it's happened to me, i've never had a problem with under pitched beer, so i never sweat it. still, i try to avoid it by using a large enough vessel for my starters. small starters get a flask, larger ones are in a jug or growler, and really large ones (1 gal and up) go in a 3 gal carboy, or are made in multiple 1 gal jugs.

Thanks for the feedback, I've been away from this site for a while so I apologize for the delay in my response.

I've upgraded to a larger flask. That should solve the problem.