What proportions for a starter?

HI:

In my last 2 brews ( extract and kits ) I used a starter WITH a stir plate.
When I made up the starter, I did 1 cup of DME and 2 cups of water. This ratio & amount I got online. I've ended up with very vigorous fermentations and all seems well.
I just ran across a recepie for an IPA from Stone brewers - which I like a lot.
This calls for an 1800 ML stater. Now, this seems to me to be a lot of starter liquid.
So, my question is, is an 1800 ML starter necessary and if so, what proportions of water vs extract would be the best amount & ratio?

Thank as always for the replies

I would plug your own numbers into a calculator with the date of your yeast, OG, etc. to double check the starter size. I like yestcalc.com, there is also mrmalty. Measuring in volumes may depend on how tightly it's packed, etc. so I would measure in weight. I like to do it in grams because the calcuation is so easy - 1 gram per 10 ml so 180 g for an 1800ml starter.

1800 ml is 1.8 liters. 2 liters is a pretty common starter size, so it seems normal to me.

Yeastcalc.com has a calculator on the left side that will calculate how much DME to add to a given amount of water. It says 6.39oz DME in 1.8L water will give you a starter wort of 1.037. I recommend you play around with the calculator - it's pretty powerful.

A starter that big is NOT on a stirplate. I use a stirplate and I've never made a starter that big.

As mentioned, your best bet is to go to a yeast calculator site or BeerSmith and figure out how big it needs to be.

Use 100g DME per liter of water.

I use a homemade stirplate with my 2 liter flask, and it works well for me. I do a cup or so of DME per quart of water. Boil it, add some yeast nutrient and then cool it. Shake the heck out of it for aeration, put in your little yeast friends, cover with crinkled aluminum foil, and put it on the stir plate.

If you're really ahead in your planning cycle, get it going far enough in advance that you can throw the flask in the fridge a day (or two) before you pitch. In this way, you'll cold crash the yeasties and can decant the excess juice off. I'm usually NOT this proactive, so I wind up pitching the entire mass. Probably affects my final taste, but it hasn't done so to the point where I wrinkle my nose. Your tastebuds might be more refined and sensitive than mine.

LovesIPA said:

A starter that big is NOT on a stirplate. I use a stirplate and I've never made a starter that big.

As mentioned, your best bet is to go to a yeast calculator site or BeerSmith and figure out how big it needs to be.

Use 100g DME per liter of water.

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Using Beersmith and/or Mr. Malty/Yeast Calc, I often have starters that are 2L or even larger. I just made a Schwarzbier with WLP820 that was 2 months old, Beersmith wanted me to make a 2.3L starter...just sayin' :fro:

LovesIPA said:

A starter that big is NOT on a stirplate. I use a stirplate and I've never made a starter that big.

As mentioned, your best bet is to go to a yeast calculator site or BeerSmith and figure out how big it needs to be.

Use 100g DME per liter of water.

Click to expand...

It depends on your OG and age of your yeast, I make ones in that range not infrequently (and not just lagers which are usually much bigger).

cut and paste from MrMalty

When making starter wort, keep the starting gravity between 1.030 and 1.040 (7 - 10°P). You do not want to make a high gravity starter to grow yeast. As a ballpark measurement, use about 6 ounces (by weight) of DME to 2 quarts of water. If you're working in metric, it couldn't be easier. Use a 10 to 1 ratio. Add 1 gram of DME for every 10 ml of final volume. (If you're making a 2 liter starter, add water to 200 grams of DME until you have 2 liters total.) Add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast nutrient, boil 15 minutes, cool, and add yeast.

Kaz said:

Using Beersmith and/or Mr. Malty/Yeast Calc, I often have starters that are 2L or even larger. I just made a Schwarzbier with WLP820 that was 2 months old, Beersmith wanted me to make a 2.3L starter...just sayin' :fro:

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A 2.3L starter on a stirplate with 7 month old yeast is good for 5.25 gallons of 1.094 wort.

That's a pretty big beer.

LovesIPA said:

A 2.3L starter on a stirplate with 7 month old yeast is good for 5.25 gallons of 1.094 wort.

That's a pretty big beer.

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Okay but with that same yeast and 5.25 gal of a 1.074 ale I'm getting that you need a 1.75 L starter. Then if you plan for 5.5 gal into the fermenter which many folks do it's really not uncommon to be in this range even with yeast not that old. Since Kaz was talking about a 2.3L starter for a lager that's like 5.25 g of a 1.050 beer with 3 mo old yeast.

chickypad said:

Okay but with that same yeast and 5.25 gal of a 1.074 ale I'm getting that you need a 1.75 L starter. Then if you plan for 5.5 gal into the fermenter which many folks do it's really not uncommon to be in this range even with yeast not that old. Since Kaz was talking about a 2.3L starter for a lager that's like 5.25 g of a 1.050 beer with 3 mo old yeast.

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+1. The pitch rate for lagers is twice that of a comparable gravity ale.

chickypad said:

Okay but with that same yeast and 5.25 gal of a 1.074 ale I'm getting that you need a 1.75 L starter. Then if you plan for 5.5 gal into the fermenter which many folks do it's really not uncommon to be in this range even with yeast not that old. Since Kaz was talking about a 2.3L starter for a lager that's like 5.25 g of a 1.050 beer with 3 mo old yeast.

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You nailed it, this was a lager, 5.25 gallons into fermenter, starting gravity of 1.051 and 3 month old yeast.