Starter

[Chico_Invisivel]

Hi! I'm from Brazil and in my town people rarely use/sell liquid yeast or make starters. In my next brew I want to try a starter. Is it possible to turn a vial (meant to be used in 5 gal batch) into a starter for an 11 gal batch, plus another 11 gal batch next day?
How can I share the starter for two brews days and put the same amount of yeast in each half?
Last question: Is it ok to use WLP 545 (Belgian Strong Ale) when brewing trippel and dubbel?

Thanks for helping!
Chico

 

[j1n]

just make one big one and then pitch half for the first and the rest for the other. if you dont have a big enough vessel then just step it up.

 

[Brettomomyces]

Totally possible! I would consult some of the online starter calculators, like the ones found at Mr Malty or Brewer's Friend. The calculators will give you better ideas of how much yeast you will need and how big of a starter to make. Here is what I would do though.

1) Calculate yeast needed/starter size needed for Beer #1
2) Make a starter for Beer #1 and make it just slightly larger
3) Run until finished, if using a stir plate this is only 18-24 hrs usually. If you don't have a stir plate, you can shake your starter a few times a day to speed it up but it will take longer to finish.
4) Crash cool and decant most of the starter liquid
5) Take around 100-150mL of the slurry from starter #1 and use it to make starter #2
6) Let starter #2 run until completion
7) Crash cool and decant spent liquid from starter 2

You can make a lot of yeast off 1 little vial! I would give yourself plenty of time before the brews to get these ready, you could start a week in advance really.