Quick yeast starter question

Hey, I’m about to make a yeast starter for a 5 gal batch of IPA with an OG of 1.065. I plugged it into BrewCalcs and it says to make a 2L starter with 1 cup DME. Mr. Malty, however says 1.5 L and doesn’t give how much DME needed. Which is right?

Also, do you normally let your starters go for one or two days?

Thanks!

There is so little difference between a 1.5 and a 2L starter that it really doesn’t matter. Almost all my starters are 2-3L. Use .75 oz. by weight of DME per cup of water for a gravity around 1.030-35. I usually make mine 5-7 days before brewing so they’ll ferment out and I can decant the spent wort rather than pitching it into my beer.

Ok, thanks, Denny! However, I don’t really have a scale (mine broke and haven’t had time to get a new one), any idea what the conversion rate of weight to volume is for Briess Golden Light DME??

Here is the NB directions for making a starter, looks like they us 1/2 cup for 650 ml of water.

Nope, sorry I don’t. I started weighing my DME after noticing big differences depending on manufacturer and how tightly you packed the measuring cup.

150-200 g per cup.

Thanks guys. I ended up using 1 cup to 2L like BrewCalcs said. So far so good, though when I got up this morning and gave the starter a shake, the foam stopper shot across the room like a rocket due to the krausen that formed so rapidly. That is some active yeast! Needless to say, My wife was not happy when it started spewing beery krausen all over the floor of our one bedroom apartment.

If you’re doing starters you should build yourself a stir plate. I actually just tossed mine together the other week and have it spinning on the table right now. It’ an easy build even for someone as myself who has never played with electronics before and even if you need to by the parts shouldn’t be more than around $20.

Stir plate is next on my list, and I probably will build it myself. I have a little background in electronics, so I can do pretty basic things like that. Until then, it’s intermittent shaking!