yeast starter - volume question

OK, so I've constructed a DIY stir plate, purchased a 2000 ml erlenmyerr and stir bar, and it all works.

I'm going to brew a begian(extract kit) this Friday with a starting gravity of 1.052; it comes with a Wyeast smack pack.

I've read a bunch on this thread and others and have seen the yeast starter calculators, BUT, I'm confused as to the volume of water I need.

Should I use 1000 ml of water or 2000ml? It seems to me that more water would just call for more DME, so the ratio of DME/concentration to water would remain the same, so does it make a difference?

Thanks for everone's help,
Greg

 

I usually go by ratio 100 grams DME to 1000 ml of water, ends up in OG 1035 which is a good target.

Its better to do a little overpitching then underpitching, I would go for maybe 1,2 Liter and 120 grams of DME.
If you have fresh yeast you could probably go for a smaller starter, maybe 800-1000 ml.

For a Begian beer with OG 1.052 it could work with just adding the smack pack. Underpitch in Belgians can do good, depends on what flavours you want.

 

You do want 100 g DME per liter of water. There are a few online calculators that will tell you the starter size you want to make. It depends on how fresh the pack is, the OG, and batch size.

http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Below 1 liter, you don't get much benefit from the starter. So it'll probably recommend a 1L for a relatively low OG brew like that.