Hi all. At present I only make 13 litre (3.4 gallon) batches, albeit the ABV is usually between 7 & 10%, so quite high gravity. Would a 5 litre (1.3 gallon) conical flask still be too much? Ta.
I assume we are talking about a flask for making yeast starters. My hunch is that a 5 liter flask would work fine, but that you probably don't need one that big. I make 5-gallon batches of medium-gravity (typically around 1.050 to 1.060, 12 to 15 degrees Plato) beers, and I get by with a flask that has about 2.5 liters of capacity (it is graduated up to 1.8 liters, I'm not entirely sure how much space there is above that). So I'd say that you don't need a flask that big but it probably wouldn't hurt. But this is just a guess based on extrapolating from my own experience. FWIW it takes a bigger starter to make a lager or a Brettanomyces beer than it does a typical top-fermented clean beer. Do you use a stir plate?
I should probably have mentioned it's for a yeast starter. Well, I want to buy a stir plate today, and every cheap stir plate I've looked at is only suitable for 2-3l flasks, which probably will dictate the size of flask I end up buying. It's just that I've seen a lot of people saying they wished they'd settled for a 5l flask in the end.
I would make 4 liters of starter wort and pitch half throw the remainder in the fridge for making a starter next time
Well, do you have any aspirations to make larger batch sizes? If not I think you could get away with a 2-3 liter flask. [EDITED TO ADD: One other thing I would mention is that in my personal opinion people exaggerate how vigorously a starter needs to be stirred. Just keeping the starter wort in motion gets you most of the way there. So in other words, assuming a cheap stir plate can physically accommodate a 5 liter flask, I think it should work even if it can't get the wort moving fast enough to form a big dimple in the middle or anything. But I emphasize, this is just my personal view, others probably adhere to the traditional practice of really getting the starter wort going at high speed.]
Yeah, I've seen that mentioned. Does that not kill the yeast, or expose it to infection? Obvs, I'm a total newb at this.
I sometimes use a 5L starter flask, and it works fine with the stir plate that a lot of us use: http://www.stirstarters.com/ $42 and a lifetime warranty.
Yes (IMO). I make 19L batches and having a 2L and 3L flask has served well. A couple of caveats: Yeast do not grow linearly . . . a 5L starter doesn't make 2.5 times as much yeast as a 2L starter. Or it might, just depends on the inoculation rate (yeast/wort ratio). I will make a two-step starter the few times it's called for which is easy, it just cost you another couple of days. You will need at least 1/3 of the flask for headspace (varies by strain). So you will be limited to 2 liters of wort in a 3L flask. Even that is pushing it for some strains (I'm talking to you, 3944). That said, my Mr. 3L does well and I brew lagers from time to time. Equally important is learning how the yeast calculators work. Brewers Friend, yeastcalculator.com, and Brewcipher all support steps and you can test your recipes and see what size starter will be called for. Ironically, the Mr Malty calc does not support steps . . . they wrote the book on stepped starters but don't support it.
I brew 10 gallon batches and use 2 2 liter flasks to make starters and split my wort into 2 fermenters. I always save an 8 oz jar of my 1.5 liter starter and pitch the rest. This seems to work well for me. When I want to use the yeast again I make another 1.5 liter starter and add the 8 oz jar of yeast. Every time wort is transferred there’s risk of infection but if you use sanitary practices the risk should be minimal. Also if the starter wort you’re saving smells weird just don’t make a starter with it.
