Yeast starter step up....?

[Daves1186]

Hey guys, so i've made quite a few successful yeast starters for my previous brews but this recipe I plan on making Saturday has a much higher o.g than what I've made before and I'm slightly confused on how I should go about stepping up a yeast starter. I plan on going to the LHBS tomorrow/today to pick up a vial of wlp001 and then begin my starter. I have a 1liter flask,2 liter flask and a stir plate. What's the best way for me to grow an adequate starter for a
6 gallon batch of 1.107 wort? I was thinking of making a 2liter 1.040 starter, setting that on the stir plate, then after 24 hours I planned on moving it to the refrigerator for 24 hours so I could decant the wort off the yeast cake and finally I planned on making another 2 liter 1.040 starter on top of that yeast cake. Is that my best option or am I off here?

 

[jaydog2314]

Yeah sounds like you are on the right track. I use http://www.yeastcalculator.com/ and I love it. According that site for 1.107 and 6 gallons you'll need 430 billions yeast cells. You'll need to the production date on the yeast to determine how big of a 2nd step though. For example super fresh packaged yeast from today with a 2L stir plate starter would yield 306 billion and then 1.1L would get you to about 436 billion.

 

[flars]

You may need a larger container for your 2 liter starter than the 2 liter flask. Some yeasts form a heavy krausen, even on a stir plate. Any container that has a flattish bottom, for holding the stir bar from being thrown, will work.
This is what I have been using for starters.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/photo/new-yeast-starter-container-61619.html

The yeast in the starter will be less stressed if the growth rate is above 1.0.

 

[Daves1186]

Hey guys thanks for the replies I'm going to go to the LHBS soon and grab some yeast, ill report back on the age when I get home.
@flars- I've been using fermcap s in my starters so I could make a 2 liter starter in my 2 liter flask and it seems to be working pretty good.

 

[Daves1186]

Alright guys so I went to LHBS and they didn't have anything close to what I was looking for so I had to order yeast online. I just got the package and pitched the yeast! Since I plan on brewing tomorrow I took flars recommendation and found a bigger container to make a 3.5L 1.038 starter which should be more than adequate since the yeast was packaged on August 18th. I had a 1 gallon growler laying around and it seems to be working just fine, nice vortex and it's holding the stir bar in place just fine.

Cheers!

 

[flars]

Alright guys so I went to LHBS and they didn't have anything close to what I was looking for so I had to order yeast online. I just got the package and pitched the yeast! Since I plan on brewing tomorrow I took flars recommendation and found a bigger container to make a 3.5L 1.038 starter which should be more than adequate since the yeast was packaged on August 18th. I had a 1 gallon growler laying around and it seems to be working just fine, nice vortex and it's holding the stir bar in place just fine.

Cheers!

Great!