In most modern labs cultures and media are grown on some sort of tray or platform designed to move the liquid culture for faster growth. In the brewing world we use stir plates. These contraptions use magnets to create a vortex inside the liquid yeast starter which off-gases the CO2 and brings in oxygen from the ambient air for a much higher cell growth. This works great when you have a high enough volume to use a stir-bar and flask, but what about those initial steps?
