Preparing starter wort in advance

I think it would be a heck of a lot easier if I had starter wort ready to go whenever I needed it...
Would there be any issues with this method?
Make a couple of gallons of starter wort.
Cool it down.
Pour it into sanitized mason jars.
Freeze it until you need it.
When needed, pull out of freezer, thaw, and pour into sanitized flask.
Pitch yeast when temperature is appropriate.


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bytor2012 said:

I think it would be a heck of a lot easier if I had starter wort ready to go whenever I needed it...
Freeze it until you need it.
When needed, pull out of freezer, thaw, and pour into sanitized flask.

Click to expand...

pull out + thaw will take just as long as boil + chill, though. The best way I've found is to can using a pressure cooker. Check my method here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-harvesting-non-slant-method-280194/#post3473893

MC

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/canning-wort-486051/

Was just diccussed there.

But pull out and thaw in the morning, go to work, pitch when you get home is way easier than boiling and cooling. He's talking about freezing and storing not pressure cooking... I've heard of people doing this with success.


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Yes, that's precisely what I mean!


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Another question...
Let's say I want to make wort today, cool it, and store it in the fridge with the intent to use it in a few days for a starter. Are there any issues with that?


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Canning it would be significantly safer, easier to store, and easier to do...

I will jar several gallons at a time, and pull it out whenever I need some.

bytor2012 said:

Another question...
Let's say I want to make wort today, cool it, and store it in the fridge with the intent to use it in a few days for a starter. Are there any issues with that?


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Click to expand...

If you pour the boiling temp wort into a 2 quart canning jar, screw the lid on, and turn it over to sanitize the inside of the lid (being really careful, of course!), it's plenty safe to store that jar in the fridge for a few days. It's not safe to store it at room temperature for long, though.

For what it's worth, when you can starter wort, there is no need to boil it. Saves some time there.


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ong said:

If you pour the boiling temp wort into a 2 quart canning jar, screw the lid on, and turn it over to sanitize the inside of the lid (being really careful, of course!), it's plenty safe to store that jar in the fridge for a few days. It's not safe to store it at room temperature for long, though.

Click to expand...

Timing at my house can get crazy...:smack:
Could a few days = a week or more?

bytor2012 said:

Another question...
Let's say I want to make wort today, cool it, and store it in the fridge with the intent to use it in a few days for a starter. Are there any issues with that?


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Click to expand...

It'd be fine, if you bring it to a boil and cool it first. It definitely would need to boil before adding yeast, as you want to kill all the microbes in there before adding the yeast.

I often freeze leftover wort, in big pitchers, but it's not so much a time savings over using DME- I do it because it's free. The thing is, without canning it to make it completely sanitary, it needs to boil before freezing just for a bit, then be cooled and frozen. Then, once thawed, it really should be brought up to a boil again just to ensure there aren't any microbes to compete with the yeast. It's probably easier to just buy and use DME for starters for most people, unless the wort is canned in a pressure canner.

ong said:

If you pour the boiling temp wort into a 2 quart canning jar, screw the lid on, and turn it over to sanitize the inside of the lid (being really careful, of course!), it's plenty safe to store that jar in the fridge for a few days. It's not safe to store it at room temperature for long, though.

Click to expand...

It would seem to me that if you boil the wort and pour the boiling wort into a sterilized mason jar, invert it to further sterilize everything in the jar with the airtight lid screwed on nice and tight, why wouldn't it be safe to then store it at room temperature? Don't we store all manner of foodstuffs for months on end that have been processed the same way?

But then maybe I'm missing something here. If I am I would appreciate a little further explanation.

This topic is discussed many times over on homebrew forums and can be cured with some simple searching...

One word - botulism.

Wort is a low-acid food. Which means it is hospitable to organisms growing in it. The only way to stop all organisms (including botulism) is to raise the temperature to 240F and pressure can the stuff.

That is why you should not do the boil and store method as it is risky. Maybe a small risk, but a deadly risk.

Puddlethumper said:

It would seem to me that if you boil the wort and pour the boiling wort into a sterilized mason jar, invert it to further sterilize everything in the jar with the airtight lid screwed on nice and tight, why wouldn't it be safe to then store it at room temperature? Don't we store all manner of foodstuffs for months on end that have been processed the same way?



But then maybe I'm missing something here. If I am I would appreciate a little further explanation.

Click to expand...

If you were going to the trouble of sanitizing the mason jar, why not sterilize EVERYTHING (meaning to pressure cook and can the starter wort).

The real problem with the method you listed is the possibility for contamination. You would be reducing the risk, but not coming close to eliminating it... It might work just fine, it might not. It's definitely not going to give you consistent and reliable results.



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Again fwiw, I prepare a few gallons of 1.040 starter wort (with either dme or if I'm feeling really ambitious a small mash), skip the boil, put it into mason jars, load them in the pressure cooker and let it go at ~20psi for 20 minutes. Let that cool overnight, and I have lots of starter ready to go.

I prepare my yeast from slants, so typically I'll get the pressure cooker back out and sterilize my first two steps before I start, then use the canned wort once I get up to the 1l step.


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Yooper said:

It's probably easier to just buy and use DME for starters for most people, unless the wort is canned in a pressure canner.

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+1

In my opinion, DME is "instant" starter wort prepared in advance. Just add water, and yeast (which you would add anyway), and you're done.

500 gram bag of DME sound about right for a 3-4 litre starter? I've got a 5 litre erlenmeyer flask now and just waiting to do my stir plate build.

podz said:

500 gram bag of DME sound about right for a 3-4 litre starter? I've got a 5 litre erlenmeyer flask now and just waiting to do my stir plate build.

Click to expand...

The general rule of thumb is 100g of dme to 1l of water. That *should get you in the 1040 ball park.



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Haven't the Aussie no-chill folks been doing just fine boiling and storing wort for months at a time in a HDPE cube before pitching yeast?

Sure, pressure canning would remove almost all risk, especially for long-term storage. But is it over-kill for using within a month or so?

jtratcliff said:

Haven't the Aussie no-chill folks been doing just fine boiling and storing wort for months at a time in a HDPE cube before pitching yeast?

Sure, pressure canning would remove almost all risk, especially for long-term storage. But is it over-kill for using within a month or so?

Click to expand...

Might be overkill, but for me, I do it for the passion, and the yeast side is just as, if not more so, important than brewing technique...

And is rather remove as much chance of infection as possible during these steps, since I'll be pitching it into $30-$50 worth of other ingredients, and consuming 4 or more hours of my active time and several weeks time for fermenting and packaging...


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