Yeast Starter Wort

blisster · September 04, 2015, 11:47:58 AM

What process does everyone use to make yeast starter wort?

I have been boiling DME each time I need a starter but that takes a time, planning, and DME isn't cheap. Planning is the biggest problem.. I don't always know 2 days in advance when I will brew or if I will be able to brew 2 days later.

I see they sell canned wort which eliminates the planning and time but it isn't any cheaper:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/fast-pitch-canned-wort-4-pack

Does anyone prepare a bunch of starter wort using a pressure cooker/canning jars? I'm wondering if it's worth the effort.

paulmaybee · September 04, 2015, 12:02:41 PM

I will do up a few gallons at a time and freeze it in quart jars. This works great, because I always have some on hand and usually keep one or two thawed in the fridge, and the rest frozen. Then I can brew on a whim, which is just when I have time.

robcoombs · September 04, 2015, 12:35:24 PM

Same. I freeze mine. It's convenient. Well, when I remember to keep a jar in the fridge anyway.

robcoombs · September 04, 2015, 12:50:27 PM

What I've also done is used wort. I have drawn about 2L, adjusted the SG with water accordingly and kept that frozen. Cheapest starter wort and you don't really miss half a gallon in the batch you're brewing.

blisster · September 04, 2015, 12:58:14 PM

Do you boil the wort and store in sterile jars or are you doing the pressure cooker way?

Boiling wort and putting in sterile jars seems much less work but it has risks of having some bacteria that survives a regular boil (due to wort being a "low acid" liquid) from what I read: http://byo.com/malt/item/434-canning-yeast-starters

I suspect the regular boil method would probably do the trick anyway (since it will eventually be fermented).

I'd like to be able to open a jar of wort and make a starter from it right away (without having to boil and let cool down again).

Roger · September 04, 2015, 01:52:09 PM

I usually make a bit extra wort when I brew than I save some and then freeze it in a clean yogurt container. Whenever I need some starter I take it out boil it and adjust gravity acordinly. It seems to work out quite well I always have a bunch of 500g yogurt containers around and its pretty close if not exactly half a liter. So I can easily increase by half liter increments.

Two Wheeler · September 04, 2015, 02:06:51 PM

Blisster I was wondering this the other day when I saw that canned wort in BYO. Might be a good club day to brew some starter wort and pressure can it. Get a few people contributing effort and ingredients.

blisster · September 04, 2015, 02:45:28 PM

Quote from: Two Wheeler on September 04, 2015, 02:06:51 PM
Blisster I was wondering this the other day when I saw that canned wort in BYO. Might be a good club day to brew some starter wort and pressure can it. Get a few people contributing effort and ingredients.

Great idea, I'd definitely go in on this!

Does anyone have a pressure cooker? I can volunteer my garage for this or maybe we can do some wort canning at an upcoming meeting?

jamie_savoie · September 04, 2015, 03:02:41 PM

I think in the last year I've only made like 4-5 starters. I usually only make one when I use a 5-6 month+ old slurry or when starting from a slant or when doing a lager size starter.

What I've been doing now is delayed pitch. On brewday when the wort is chill, I transfer 1-1.5L to a flask, pitch yeast in flash and wait 6-8h then pitch it (or when I see activity, sometimes it start after a couple of hours)

What I like about this is I don't dilute my batch with a bland dme starter, save time and money and I don't have to worry about starter boil over!! I don't know how many times I had to freaking scrub that stove lol

robcoombs · September 04, 2015, 03:30:38 PM

That's a great method, I will definitely be using that.

ECH · September 06, 2015, 02:32:46 AM

Quote from: jamie_savoie on September 04, 2015, 03:02:41 PM
I think in the last year I've only made like 4-5 starters. I usually only make one when I use a 5-6 month+ old slurry or when starting from a slant or when doing a lager size starter.

What I've been doing now is delayed pitch. On brewday when the wort is chill, I transfer 1-1.5L to a flask, pitch yeast in flash and wait 6-8h then pitch it (or when I see activity, sometimes it start after a couple of hours)

What I like about this is I don't dilute my batch with a bland dme starter, save time and money and I don't have to worry about starter boil over!! I don't know how many times I had to freaking scrub that stove lol

That is so simple, it almost makes too much sense!

blisster · January 05, 2016, 11:23:40 AM

Bumping an old thread...

Has anyone ever canned wort before?

Would it better to boil the wort first to get rid of DMS? I suspect pressure cooking directly from the mash tun run-off would give wort with a strong DMS smell? I suppose that wouldn't matter much if you decant but that requires letting the starter sit/settle which takes extra steps/time which is what I'm trying to eliminate.

I also read that some people can wort with a high OG (1.070+) on purpose and dilute with bottled water to get the target 1.035-1.040 when making a starter. You would get twice as many starters out of the canned wort but I'm a bit hesitant to used bottled water in a starter?

robcoombs · January 05, 2016, 11:42:34 AM

Quote from: blisster on January 05, 2016, 11:23:40 AM
Bumping an old thread...

Has anyone ever canned wort before?

Would it better to boil the wort first to get rid of DMS? I suspect pressure cooking directly from the mash tun run-off would give wort with a strong DMS smell? I suppose that wouldn't matter much if you decant but that requires letting the starter sit/settle which takes extra steps/time which is what I'm trying to eliminate. It would eventually get boiled in the beer you are making the starter for anyway?

I also read that some people can wort with a high OG (1.070+) on purpose and dilute with bottled water to get the target 1.035-1.040 when making a starter. You would get twice as many starters out of the canned wort but I'm a bit hesitant to used bottled water in a starter?

I've frozen wort and used it again.

I can't recommend this yet because I'm currently dry hopping my first attempt at a beer using a vitality starter. I'll let you know if it works well. But have you tried it before? You obviously still have to do a starter but it's on brewday and as long as you're using a moderate OG beer it's supposed to be effective.

robcoombs · January 06, 2016, 09:12:00 AM

Have you looked into these @blisster ? Seems to simplify things if they work as advertised.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/fast-pitch-canned-wort-4-pack

Two Wheeler · January 06, 2016, 09:44:51 AM

That's the end goal to get canned wort without paying $10 per starter.

Pierre, I'd say even a quick 15-30 minute boil would be sufficient on these. I think adding bottled water would be fine, I mean we're encouraging as much air to enter the starter as possible and not worried about what's in the air. Or is there another concern I'm missing?