I would like to start culturing my own yeast to save a couple of bucks on brew day. I’ve successfully washed yeast off my trub in the past, but have been told that’s not the most ideal way of doing things. So I want to do the same basic procedure using a new vial of white labs cal. Ale in a 64.oz. growler. Would the whole vial be over pitching too much or should I use 1/2?..or some other measurement?
A half gallon starter from a full vial will work fine as a starting point, you can then harvest a little and grow it up again, while using the main starter with a batch of beer. If you decant so you have some thick yeast sludge, you will only need about a tablespoon of the sludge for growing about a pint of new starter…good luck.
I’m a little confused about what your plan is with the growler, unless like ynot said you are making a starter.
If you want to harvest and reuse your yeast my procedure it to pour the yeast cake into sanitized containers after fermentation. You can reuse the slurry as-is if you use it soon. Or, you can use some of it to make a starter for a later batch. If you’re going to store it, keep it in the fridge.