What size flask for starters?
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McMullan
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A standard starter volume for ale is about 1L. I'd say 2L Duran bottles are better, as there's room for a decent krausen so no mess and they have the convenience of a screw cap for when it's stored in the fridge. Flasks cost a lot more and are surprisingly fragile; unlike Durans, which are pretty tough. You can throw Durans at your neighbours and they bounce back whole. Much more cost effective, IMO. Check out eBay, there's a British glass company that make them :thumb: If you're really desperate for space you could get away with 1L Durans by using yeast slopes, which seem to be much more vigorous than other fresh formats.
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I culture yeast in a 5 ltrs old sainsburys water bottle with an airlock pushed through the drilled lid. 2-3ltrs wort in the 5 ltrs bottle can be oxygenated easily with vigourous shaking (using an undrilled cap from another water bottle)I've only started with liquid yeast but grew up 3ltrs wlp002, split it into 3 * 1ltr tonic bottles to store in the fridge. The evening before brewday I took 2 of the one ltr bottles out, drained the liquid on top and regrew the yeast on the bottom in another 1-2ltr wort in the 5ltr bottle. ..leaving one in the fridge to grow up again when I next use that yeast.
McMullan
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I reckon you'd get away with using one of those 1L bottles for a great starter. I really like the idea of growing up a fresh vial of yeast and splitting it for a number of brews. That strategy has so much going for it. With a little effort, it's possible to culture up one of these splits and split it again and again... :thumb:
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Your'e probably right since by the time I've grown it up once there will be enough cells in the one litre , esp if its pitched into a starter the night before. I prefer the idea of yeast that's been cultured carefully from the original vial, or only a couple of generations away from it to avoid mutations etc creeping in. Having said that, I'm pitching next brew with the saf05 I recovered from my last brew.
McMullan
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I've been routinely repitching slurry 2-3 times from the primary. I'm seriously going off the idea of doing it without knowing what else is growing in there :-? Splitting yeast cultured from a fresh vial has my vote :thumb:
CreweBrewer
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2L mineral water bottle for me :-D
McMullan
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Good question. Not sure. You can autoclave them half filled with wort (without the caps on and cover the opening with tin foil). Microwaveable too. You'd have to be careful with direct heat from a flame, though. They're made of borosilicate glass but have plastic pour rings and screw caps. They're perfect for home brewer yeast fun. They're what the pros use in labs.
looks like a good price here:
http://www.betterequipped.co.uk/simax-reagent-bottle-with-cappouring-ring-2000-ml-prd8398p-3235
Had a good wee giggle to myself about this :lol:
