Starter Issues

[bootney]

I plan to brew an eisbock this coming Sunday so I made a 1.7L starter with stir plate this past Friday using WLP830 with the intentions of making two more before brew day. I made the second starter last night and decided to check the gravity because the first starter didn't seem to have much activity. Sure enough it only went from 1043 to 1040 from Friday to Monday. I tasted the starter and there were noticeable fermentation characteristics but no real change in gravity.

The second starter which was a 2L is showing more activity than the first. So here's what I see my options are:

Should I assume(hate that word) the second starter will work, and make another 2L starter Thursday with an additional vial of WLP830(cheaper, riskier, still use liquid)?

Should I start over and make a 1.7L starter with 4 new vials of 830 this Thursday(more costly, still use liquid)?

Or should I go with 3 packages of dry yeast and call it a brew day?

I'm not really sure what caused the first starter to lag as it was a fairly new vial of 830 based off of the expiration date. So was it just slow to start due to it being a lager? The only variable that changed from starter 1 and starter 2 was starter 2 had half of its DME from an unopened bag and starter 1 had all of its DME from an opened (sealed in a ziplock bag) bag stored in the fridge.

 

[duboman]

If the 2L starter is looking good I would go with stepping up that one until you get your pitch count. IF you are brewing on Sunday you have plenty of time to step up and not have to spend any more money on yeast. Go to http://www.yeastcalc.com and plug in your numbers to see where you are at and what you have left to do and you should be fine.

My guess on the first starter is the yeast was probably not very viable and the starter gravity was too large and stressed the yeast too much. IME, it is best in those situations to start small, like a 500ml of 1.030 and then step up accordingly so you can build up the yeast and its health as well