Just made a starter with Goya Malta

I don't have any DME on hand and want to reuse some Wyeast (#1272 American ale II). Some Googling brought up various pages mentioning the use of Malta (that sickly sweet, Latino soft drink that is essentially unfermented wort) and I gave it a shot.
Last night, I poured a 12 ounce bottle into a pyrex flask and added about 10 or so ounces of preboiled, cooled water. Then I poured in the saved yeast (along with some trub that was in the beer bottle) and let it go. It's got a nice thin layer of krausen on it now, less than 24 hours later. No unusual smells.
Brew day is tomorrow or Sunday and this seems ready to pitch.

The Malta cost me $0.50 at the supermarket.
Anyone else ever try this?

Nope. Never tried it. I know the product you speak of. I don't know the ingredients off-hand... Let us know how it works for you.

Heard of it but never tried it. Let us know how the beer turns out. Sounds like a good alternative to DME for making a starter in a pinch.

I have a six pack in the closet waiting for when I culture the bottle yeast from a couple of Rogue bombers. I'm not patient enough to boil three separate batches of DME wort to make a single starter.

I've used it once, gonna probably use it again this weekend.

Wow, this is a really good idea. I always make starters but I HATE the whole process. This would be super easy...and cheap.

Anbrew said:

Wow, this is a really good idea. I always make starters but I HATE the whole process. This would be super easy...and cheap.

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The actuall preparation of the starter wort only takes like 20 minutes. If you hate the whole process, buy more yeast. This stuff only has the advantage of being easier to get.

I have heard of people using this stuff for their starters with good results, so I bet it will be fine. I personally would still boil the stuff for at least 15 minutes for the same reason I boil DME for 15 minutes, because no telling what kind of bacteria could possibly be present, and an infected starter means an infected batch of beer.

BarleyWater said:

The actuall preparation of the starter wort only takes like 20 minutes.

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How do you prepare a starter wort in 20 minutes? Granted, it's neither difficult nor especially time consuming. But it takes me about 45 minutes to make a starter wort for a ten gallon brew. Ten minutes to bring 2 quarts of water plus 1/2 pound of DME to a boil. Fifteen minutes boil time. Twenty minutes to cool the wort down in a sink full of ice water. I'd like to know how you manage it in 20 minutes.

I use Malta Goya quite often for my starters. I have a fantastic ethnic grocery store not too far away. I always pick up some Malta Goya!

billtzk said:

How do you prepare a starter wort in 20 minutes? Granted, it's neither difficult nor especially time consuming. But it takes me about 45 minutes to make a starter wort for a ten gallon brew. Ten minutes to bring 2 quarts of water plus 1/2 pound of DME to a boil. Fifteen minutes boil time. Twenty minutes to cool the wort down in a sink full of ice water. I'd like to know how you manage it in 20 minutes.

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OK, maybe 25, I wasn't considering the time it takes to bring the water to a boil. 5 minutes to bring to a boil, 15 boiling, 5 to cool off to pitching temp, and I also use 1/2lb in 2qt. I don't know, maybe it's because I use a really nice pot that transfers heat well, but I can make a starter real quick while waiting on SWMBO to finish her makeup or something, so I don't see it as that much time or work.

BarleyWater said:

OK, maybe 25, I wasn't considering the time it takes to bring the water to a boil. 5 minutes to bring to a boil, 15 boiling, 5 to cool off to pitching temp, and I also use 1/2lb in 2qt. I don't know, maybe it's because I use a really nice pot that transfers heat well, but I can make a starter real quick while waiting on SWMBO to finish her makeup or something, so I don't see it as that much time or work.

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I have to confess that I don't really time anything other than the 15 minute boil when I make my starter. I'm really just guessing on the time to bring to a boil and the cool down time. I just know that in total it is more than 20 minutes.

I use my Mauviel 6.4 qt sauce pan, which gives enough headroom to avoid boilovers. It's a great heat conductor too with its 2.5mm thick copper.

I did this a few weeks ago with yeast harvested from a Rogue Shakespeare Stout bottle - worked great. Made a homemade stir-plate and stepped it up to 2000mL over the course of 4 days. The Malta Goya does work well, just remember to crash cool the starter and pour off the liquid... that stuff is foul and there's no way you want it in your beer. I'm making another batch of Pacman, this time with DME. Malta Goya works in a pinch, but try your hardest to go for the DME- makes for a much healthier starter and without any preservatives.

Last year I thought it was an urban brewing legend, but I did some research and was blown away by how prevelent it really is in brewing culture. In fact though I think we're the best board this is, and I think we contribute a huge amount to the brewing knowledgebase, this is one of the few things that hasn't gotten too much play here...it's all over the other brewing sites...has been for several years..

Anbrew said:

I always make starters but I HATE the whole process.

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I have found that pressure canning jars of wort in advance is time-efficient, easy, cheap, and ensures a supply of room-temp, sterile wort available for immediate use at any time.

It has completely removed my resistance to making starters.

If I'm making a starter from DME I only boil for 5 minutes, never any problems. Just sayin' you could probably cut 10 minutes out if you wanted.

You can put an hour and half's worth of work into it up front, do a mini mash with 2-row and get plenty of cannable starter wort for less than a quarter of the cost of DME. Then, when it's starter time, just open a jar - no boiling, no fuss at all.

No one else using the microwave for starters? I boil 3 cups of water in a bowl in the microwave and add the DME when it gets rolling. Takes all of 5 mins......

Here's what I found when I googled teh internetz last year...

[ame=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&hs=h4k&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=malta+goya+yeast+starters&spell=1]malta goya yeast starters - Google Search[/ame]

I've used Malta for starters frequently. It's simple and convenient. The stuff seems to be about SG 1.060 so I cut it two parts Malta to one part water. It's not all malt, there is some corn syrup content but still enough malt products to get the yeast going well. If you ferment it out Malta tastes something like Yuengling lager.

I have a bottle of Malta Goyo in front of me. Here's the ingredients for reference.

Brewed from water, pale malt, caramel malt, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, caramel color, phosporic acid, salt and hops.

The also have malta goya light.

McNasty said:

I have a bottle of Malta Goyo in front of me. Here's the ingredients for reference.

Brewed from water, pale malt, caramel malt, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, caramel color, phosporic acid, salt and hops.

The also have malta goya light.

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I talked about using it as a base in the grocery and produce thread...doing sort of a decoction mashing but with the maltagoya instead of first runnings.

Someone recommended that I be sure to pour out the liquid before pitching the yeast...and BigEd mentioned that it tastes like Yuengling lager... since it's such a small proportion of the batch, I doubt it will have any contribution to the taste... thoughts? BTW, I'm brewing a porter, so I don't have concern about the effect on the color.

Malta Goya has high fructose corn syrup? I try to avoid that stuff as much as possible, but I guess if you use it in a starter, it just gets consumed by the yeast anyway.

Pickngrin said:

Someone recommended that I be sure to pour out the liquid before pitching the yeast...and BigEd mentioned that it tastes like Yuengling lager... since it's such a small proportion of the batch, I doubt it will have any contribution to the taste... thoughts? BTW, I'm brewing a porter, so I don't have concern about the effect on the color.

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It depends how big your starter is and what type of beer you're brewing. If you're making a pale ale, for instance, the malta goya would discolor the brew a bit. If it's a dark beer it shouldn't matter as much.

BUT, I've gotta disagree that fermented Malta Goya tastes like Yuengling... I'd equate it more with ass sweat.

+1 on not boiling for 15. 5 minutes is fine.

I just picked up some Malta Polar to try this with. Much more available and cheaper than DME. The Malta Polar label proudly boasts "20% more malt", and was only 2 or 3 cents per oz more expensive than the malta goya. Also, malta polar does not contain HFCS. I think malta goya tastes like ass, but the malta polar wasn't bad...tasted exactly like a good unfermented wort with low hops. I pitched some the white labs kolsch strain into it...we'll see how it goes.

phissionkorps said:

I just picked up some Malta Polar to try this with. Much more available and cheaper than DME. The Malta Polar label proudly boasts "20% more malt", and was only 2 or 3 cents per oz more expensive than the malta goya. Also, malta polar does not contain HFCS. I think malta goya tastes like ass, but the malta polar wasn't bad...tasted exactly like a good unfermented wort with low hops. I pitched some the white labs kolsch strain into it...we'll see how it goes.

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Keep me posted...I've been curious about fermenting malto goya as well!

I'm reculturing Rogue Pacman in a Malta starter right now.
I dumped the dregs of a 22oz Brutal Bitter in my flask with 1 bottle of malta.
It took 24 hours, but its showing signs of life.
The malta seems to be working.

Our grocery store here has their own brand of Malta so it is cheap as hell.

There are two things I'm not happy about.
1. It is dark as a stout. Can't see your yeasties working.
2. It's carbonated. You don't know if the fine bubbles are from fermenting, or the previous carbonation.

I don't have a batch planned, so I'll probably step it up to a gallon, and wash it.

2. It's carbonated. You don't know if the fine bubbles are from fermenting, or the previous carbonation.

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You really, really need to shake this a lot to get the bubbles out. It is extremely carbonated; "excessive" would be an understatement. I boiled for 5 minutes and it decided to turn into a bubble tower. Even when I cooled and poured into the gatorade jug I make starters in, it was still visibly carbonated. 24+ hours later I still had no fermentation, so I capped the jug, and shook the hell out of it for about 10 minutes. Even after 5 mins of boiling, about 1 min of shaking when pouring in the jug, 24 hours, and 10 more minutes of shaking, it was STILL carbonated somehow. After my 10 min shaking session, fermentation commenced in about 2 hours. There is a ton of CO2 to get out apparently.

Rhoman said:

BUT, I've gotta disagree that fermented Malta Goya tastes like Yuengling... I'd equate it more with ass sweat.

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Why on earth do you know what ass sweat tastes like???

Malta + Spash of Milk + Dab of Chocolate Syrup + Ice Cream = Excellent malted milk shake.

Yeast starter, superb milkshake, cool tiny (7 oz) bottles for mead. What's not to love.

One time on Top Chef they used malta in marinade and all the judges thought it was the cat's pjs.

I'm a big fan of malta; just don't drink it like intended. Tastes like ass.

Well I tasted the starter right before I pitched. At least with white labs koelsch yeast...not very good. I made another malta polar starter with some yeast from a sierra nevada pale ale (btw...is that their brewing or bottling yeast?) and this starter at least smells a ton better.

hmmm... i think SNPA uses a lager yeast for bottling, don't they?

Alright, I just tasted the malta that was fermented with WLP005, and the other with the yeast from a bottle of SNPA. Both are terrible. They're just entirely too sweet. If I had to pick one, I'd say the one fermented with WLP005 was better, since the yeast gave it some flavor, though the sweetness was almost cloying. The SNPA bottle yeast was neutral and left no flavor but sweet.

Good for a starter, not good for drinking.

I was comparing brands of malta in the store some time back. One brand, which I can't remember, strictly had water, malt, cane sugar, hops. I believe it had a red label on it. I chickened out of buying it though...looks like I may have to pick some up now to play with.