Canning Malt Extract

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shazster

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Has anyone out there in the "brewasphere" had any experience with home canning (mason jars, lids, canning pots, etc.) with respect to malt extract?
I buy a basic light diastatic malt from a local wholesaler in a 5 gal. pail format that I use in place of sugar/as the basis for a basic beer/or in the making of partial mash-partial malt extract brews.
I have found it very versatile but the format is a real B-word to work with (takes up lots of fridge room, messy to measure or weigh, messy to put in brewpot, just messy messy messy). While helping my girlfriend with her last tomato canning batch, I got the idea that it might be a good idea to break down the next pail I buy into standard 1 or 2L canning jars right off the bat for more manageable quantities, standard measurements for recipe formulation & reproducability, less mess, less waste, long term storabilty, etc.

Any thoughts? Anyone ever tried tried this?
 
The problem is Botulism can infect canned goods that are not acidic and is a real possibility. The only sure way to kill it off would be to use a pressure cooker. I do this to create starters since starters don't have hops. Unfortunately, I don't think this can be canned in a safe manner.
 
I do something somewhat similar. I brew all grain and instead of using extract to make starters, I make an extra liter or 2 of wort when I brew and save it in mason jars. This way I have pre-boiled and sanitized wort ready to go and I just need to warm it up and add yeast for a starter, it works really well.
 
The problem is Botulism can infect canned goods that are not acidic and is a real possibility. The only sure way to kill it off would be to use a pressure cooker. I do this to create starters since starters don't have hops. Unfortunately, I don't think this can be canned in a safe manner.

We have all the gear required. I can use standard canning pot or pressure cooker. Standard boil pot usually gets used for veggies & sauces without meat. Pressure canner gets used for anything with meat (ie. spaghetti sauce etc.). I don't think I will need to go as far as pressure canning (higher heat), but would like to know if anyone had any issues with the heat required for basic boil-canning process on their malt...
 
It will work fine. No reason to pressure cook, just steam your jars, then fill them and put into a boiling water bath for about 20-30 minutes. The lids will suck down tight when it cools.

Not much will live in a high sugar environment, and on the odd chance you might get a bit of something fuzzy on top, remember you are going to boil this really well when you go to brew with it..
 
I do something somewhat similar. I brew all grain and instead of using extract to make starters, I make an extra liter or 2 of wort when I brew and save it in mason jars. This way I have pre-boiled and sanitized wort ready to go and I just need to warm it up and add yeast for a starter, it works really well.

Really looking for info more on the canning of concentrated extract (wort being less viscous of course). I will file away the wort starter idea as I want to start getting into yeast culturing. (Unibroue makes a lot of bottled-on-lees brews and I would like to take a serious shot at using their yeasts- so thanks for that one.
 
Really looking for info more on the canning of concentrated extract (wort being less viscous of course). I will file away the wort starter idea as I want to start getting into yeast culturing. (Unibroue makes a lot of bottled-on-lees brews and I would like to take a serious shot at using their yeasts- so thanks for that one.

disregard my thread then.
 
Done and Done...
Summary: Standard canning pot (pressure canner not required) 20-30min boil & can as you would anything else without meat. Thanks for all your feedback guys & the canning starter wort replies just add to my "gotta try this too" list...

-Shazter
 
I don't agree that you can do this with a water bath canner. That's only for acidic foods. You need to use a pressure canner with low acid foods. You're encouraging botulism if you don't use a pressure canner!
 
I don't agree that you can do this with a water bath canner. That's only for acidic foods. You need to use a pressure canner with low acid foods. You're encouraging botulism if you don't use a pressure canner!

I agree. Boiling wort at 212 degrees will not kill botulism. It needs to be at 250 degrees for a minimum of 3 minutes to kill it. Only a pressure cooker will kill off those nasties. If you plan to use it fairly soon you'd probably be ok but for long term storage boiling is just too dangerous.

That being said I guess you could pre-make wort with the liquid extract and water at a specific ratio to a specific gravity, pressure cook it and add it as a supplement to a partial mash, but I've never tried it. When I make a starter I use 500g dme to 5000ml water which equals 1.040 and fits conveniently in 7 quart jars.

Anyway, I know it seems like i'm headed down paranoia road but the worst home brewer is a dead home brewer ;)

Good luck!
 
I agree. Boiling wort at 212 degrees will not kill botulism. It needs to be at 250 degrees for a minimum of 3 minutes to kill it. Only a pressure cooker will kill off those nasties. If you plan to use it fairly soon you'd probably be ok but for long term storage boiling is just too dangerous.

That being said I guess you could pre-make wort with the liquid extract and water at a specific ratio to a specific gravity, pressure cook it and add it as a supplement to a partial mash, but I've never tried it. When I make a starter I use 500g dme to 5000ml water which equals 1.040 and fits conveniently in 7 quart jars.

Anyway, I know it seems like i'm headed down paranoia road but the worst home brewer is a dead home brewer ;)

Good luck!

Alright then, back to the pressure canner it is. (Although I thought beer/wort/ or the malt concentrate I ultimately plan on canning is acidic is it not?) I thought botulism was primarily a concern for anyone canning something with meat. But better safe than sorry I suppose. If I've got the equipment why not use it I guess...
 
I thought that too shazter and actually I did a couple boiled starters. That is until a friend (who's not a brewer) told me that it was a bad idea. I didn't think it was a big deal until i reviewed the pressure cooker manual. It mentioned that any non-acidic food must be cooked at 15lbs pressure for 3 minutes (I do 20) at 350 degrees. Unfortunately wort is not acidic.

The good news is (as you probably already know) pressure cooking is pretty straight forward. Plus, if you eventually use it for starters, it's really nice to have several room temperature jars ready to go. It's very convenient!
 
I thought that too shazter and actually I did a couple boiled starters. That is until a friend (who's not a brewer) told me that it was a bad idea. I didn't think it was a big deal until i reviewed the pressure cooker manual. It mentioned that any non-acidic food must be cooked at 15lbs pressure for 3 minutes (I do 20) at 350 degrees. Unfortunately wort is not acidic.

The good news is (as you probably already know) pressure cooking is pretty straight forward. Plus, if you eventually use it for starters, it's really nice to have several room temperature jars ready to go. It's very convenient!

Primarily not for starters (at least not yet anyway). I just want to be able to break down 25Kg of malt extract/concentrate to make it more 1-manageable 2-storage friendly (w/o filling my fridge). I've been using kits for the last few months after not having brewed for some years, but I used to bulk buy a semi-decent diastatic bucket-o-malt that I could tweak with other malts or use with kits to replace the sugar required. I just want to re-pack it to make it more convenient to use.
 
Primarily not for starters (at least not yet anyway). I just want to be able to break down 25Kg of malt extract/concentrate to make it more 1-manageable 2-storage friendly (w/o filling my fridge). I've been using kits for the last few months after not having brewed for some years, but I used to bulk buy a semi-decent diastatic bucket-o-malt that I could tweak with other malts or use with kits to replace the sugar required. I just want to re-pack it to make it more convenient to use.

I assume you don't have freezer space? My preference would be to freeze it in single batch sized containers if at all possible.

Otherwise pressure canning is the only alternative I can think of.
 
I assume you don't have freezer space? My preference would be to freeze it in single batch sized containers if at all possible.

Otherwise pressure canning is the only alternative I can think of.

First of all, freezing isn't the best option. Micro-nasties can still survive the freezing. This is especially bad if you are using these starters to re-culture from a yeast bank. It gives the micro-nasties a better chance at taking over. Also it takes up space in the freezer that could be better utilized (yeast bank :) ). Lastly, freezing just means you have to thaw, which doesn't really save any time/steps compared to making single starters.

If he's got the tools for PRESSURE canning, then canning is the best option. You literally take a jar off the shelf, pop it open, flame or spray the rim and you are done.

And with that, my jars of starter wort for the year or more
img_0274.jpg
 
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