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How do you handle a large yeast starter?

Beer_Tigger

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In BYO the Maibock recipe calls for a 15L starter for a 19L batch of beer.  This seems weird to me.  Are we supposed to dump off the starter liquid and only dump in the slurry?  For smaller starters is it OK to just pour the whole thing in?

Please feel free to share your favorite method.
 
I pour most of the liquid off, to about and inch above the yeast cake. Then swirl to get all the yeast into suspension, then pitch.
 
I decant as much as possible and pitch only slurry.  Reduces risk of starter flavors affecting batch.
 
Darker beers Ill pitch the whole thing but on a lighter beer Ill decant and just pitch the slurry.

This makes me think... When we decant the liquid off the top can we perhaps decant it into a sterile container to store and use to make a starter later? Will there be enough healthy cells in the liquid to do this with?
 
#maddspoiler: I don't think the liquid left on top of the yeast cake is useful. I have tried adding a fresh package of yeast to a small amount of leftover wort(1/2 cup) and nothing happened beside rehydration of the fresh yeast. I just added a 1 pint starter to it and it kicked off again.
 
Well I think that's because it's fermented beer.  Isn't that what the yeast starter was doing, making a mini beer?  You could probably bottle it and drink it.
 
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