liquid yeast starters

[cobb]

i will be getting varrious smack packs, liquid yeasts and yeast slants for xmas from the wife and have a question about starters.

ive read that for a 25 litre brew length it would be best to make them up into 1 litre starters. now am i able to simply make up a a litre of 1.040 wort with spray malt and pitch the yeast slant, vial or smackpack straight into this to prepare for the brew or is it best to make it up into a 200/300ml stater, let that ferment and then step it up into a 1 litre sater?

cheers

 

[Wez]

I've not done many, but have always stepped them up in 200ml increments, i've also read on the forum about the OG not needing to be 1.040 (that may have been Aleman) although not 100% sure

 

[Aleman]

If you are talking about Smak Packs and Wyeast Tubes, these can be pitched directly into a 1L starter (Or bigger) at 1.040 . . . . If you want to get maximum yeast growth use wort no higher than 1.012 and use lots of it . . . . . normally go for 4.5L at 1.010 . . .

For slants its all a bit more complex. I tak e aloopful and add that to 2ml . . . . when that is fermenting I pitch teh whole lot into 20ml . . . . again when fermenting well that goes into 200 . . . . and a final step up to 2L. . . Of course you can simply pour 20ml of sterile wort into the slant, swill it around a bit, and miss the 2ml step out completely . . . . but then you have to ditch the slant.

 

[cobb]

i will have wyeast smack packs, brew labs tubes and slants.

im not fussed about saving any of them to be split or anything like that but just want a simple way to use them that will work well. if i like them and want to re-use them i will probably save the yeast cake and split that up like in the "yeast havesting guide" on this forum.

so for the smack pack i can pitch it straight into a 1 litre starter. what about the brewlabs tubes?

and with the slants if i want to use the whole lot in one go whats the best way to go about it? is it ok to make up a 200ml 1.040 wort and pitch it into that and then step that up into a 1 litre starter?

also how long should i be waiting between stepping it up?

sorry for all the quetions i just dont want to waste them,

cheers