Canning Wort

So i'm a bit on the lazy side when it comes to making wort for starters and other brew related projects. So i got myself some 1 quart canning jars and boiled up 3 gallons of wort and canned it.

Has anyone else ever tried this?

How'd it work out?

How long can you keep the wort before the the sugar falls out of solution?

As long as it doesn't get infected, what other things could make it go bad?

Did you pressure can, or just boil can?

If you boil canned you have basically created a perfect environment for the bacteria that produces the botulinum toxin (anaerobic environment high in sugars, low in acidity). Simple boiling doesn't get hot enough to kill this bacteria. Its generally accepted that it has to get to around 235-250 to ensure you've killed anything nasty like that. Thats why you have to have a pressure canner to preserve things like meats, which are low acidity, vice pickling or making preserves, where some form of acid is added.

Yeah, I've tried this. I can starter wort in 11 gallon batches.

Be sure to can in a pressure canner at 15 psi for 15 minutes. Otherwise, you're begging for botulism. A boiling water bath canning is not sufficient to prevent botulism.

I have a jar that's over 6 months old. Looks the same as the day it was canned. The proteins fall out after a few hours and clump up, but the yeast eat it anyway. Give the jar a little shake before opening.

I'll see if I can dig up my writeup from earlier in the year.

Check out my homebrewed way of doing it. In shirt, 20 mins @ 15PSI.

MC

Found it. Here ya go:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/canning-starter-wort-110835/index2.html#post4958658

Ya I did 20 min 15 15 psi

TipsySaint said:

Ya I did 20 min 15 15 psi

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Ok good! I don't have a pressure canner yet but made the mistake with the boiling method the first time. Fortunately I read about botulism before trying to use it. Unfortunately I had to ditch 10 lbs of Prickly Pear fruit that I had canned.

wow that sucks! You know you can most likely take the lids off, put on new lids and process something like that and it should be find.

TipsySaint said:

wow that sucks! You know you can most likely take the lids off, put on new lids and process something like that and it should be find.

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No, not safely! Once something is canned, and set at room temperature, the botulism spores would grow wildly and then it would be too late. The food (or wort) should be dumped if it's not canned and sealed properly the very first time.

Are you sure Yooper? I was under the impression that the botulin toxin got denatured at high heat. The issue with the canned starters being that once the canning was over (successfully or unsuccessfully) it never got heated again, just propagated and pitched.

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I thought that was what I read when I was researching this to start the canning process.

USMCPayne said:

Ok good! I don't have a pressure canner yet but made the mistake with the boiling method the first time. Fortunately I read about botulism before trying to use it. Unfortunately I had to ditch 10 lbs of Prickly Pear fruit that I had canned.

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Dude your avatar is badasss. I'm scared of pressure canning

I was under the impression that they would be denatured as well. more research is required! Will report back!

ResumeMan said:

Are you sure Yooper? I was under the impression that the botulin toxin got denatured at high heat. The issue with the canned starters being that once the canning was over (successfully or unsuccessfully) it never got heated again, just propagated and pitched.

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I thought that was what I read when I was researching this to start the canning process.

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No, I'm not 100% sure that you can't because it does denature at high heat. I'm unsure though that if it grows and then canned again it is completely safe, and I wouldn't take the risk.

Even when you make, say, spaghetti sauce, any jars that don't seal should be refrigerated and used up and not let sit. I have never heard in any USDA recommendation that reprocessing would be safe especially after a period of time.

so a quick search (not a good scientific level) shows that if you heat to over 240 for 10 minutes all the toxin will in fact be denatured. In the case of wort, this would be fairly easy as getting all the liquid to a uniform temp should happen without a lot of extra time. in the case of food it might be a bit more tricky. Also,does it only happen when jars aren't seal properly or even when they are properly sealed?

TipsySaint said:

if you heat to over 240 for 10 minutes all the toxin will in fact be denatured

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I don't know about you, but I'd rather pick and process another 10 lbs of Prickly Pear fruit than take ANY chance of contracting botulism hehe.

You do not want to take a risk with the botulism toxin. The issue with re-canning is that you cannot be sure how long the inside of the jars are above 240F, so you cannot be sure if you have denatured 90%, 95%, 99%, or 100% of the toxin. The only reason that pressure canning works in the first place is that you are assuming that you are starting with basically ZERO, and the canning is to destroy the spores, not denature the toxin.

Seriously, it is not worth it.

sethlovex said:

Dude your avatar is badasss.

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Just saw this! Thanks man!