GoodisBeer said:QUESTION: The book recommends 2 liquid yeast packets (Wyeast 1010). According to Table 5 pg290 I should make a 2L starter. However, BS recommends 3.07? Why 3L? Any thoughts?
It's theoretically possible to overpitch yeast, but you're never going to unless your starter setup is ridiculous. Go 3L. Hell, get a 2-gallon starter bucket and do 6L.
You don't have to put all 6L of starter liquor in your beer. Pop you starter into the fridge 48 hours before you brew. The yeast will all go dormant and settle to the bottom. You can decant the liquor off the top, leaving just enough to submerge your cake, and let it warm up for a couple hours before pitching. I do this all the time, and my lag is about 2 hours.
Unrelated--I'm making a starter tonight to breed yeast for a Christmas ale. Irish red with a Maris Otter base, using bitter and sweet orange peel, cinnamon, clove and spruce extract as spices, and Motueka hops. Provisional name is "Hana kōkō," which is Maori for Santa Claus.
You have to be super careful with that spruce extract. In small amounts, it's very pleasant with those other spices. If it's too strong, it is not.