PU's been my favorite beer since the seventies, when the caps were lined with cork. (Yes, I'm that old.) I've been brewing for a year now, 75 gallons and just went AG. I like to keep things simple (aerate wort by pouring between brewpot and primary 5 times is my favorite.)

I'm wondering if some experienced lagerers could share their technique on creating the starter - could you possibly dump a Wyeast Activator into a 2 liter flask with a stir bar and reach pitching size in one step, or is it always a two step process? I've seen a few sites where they claim stir bars almost doubled yeast growth.

From what I've read to do a cold pitch would require two smack packs and 4 L of starter, do you decant the 2L and pitch the slurry into 4L of fresh wort at 70 degrees and then gradually cool down to 48 before pitching?

One last question - does anybody consider soaking in PBW for 1/2 hour and rinsing, then treating with Star San sterile enough for yeast culturing, or is it boil boil boil?

I would appreciate any input, sorry if this has already been discussed to death, this is my first post here.
Pivo! Pivo! Pivo!