saving half of the wort

I was wondering if it would be possible to freeze half of a wort? Say mash for 5 gallons and freeze half of it, or maybe use a campden tablet and store it? Now I know that it would be best just to half the recipe, but it seems like in theory it would work. Has anyone tried this, or know of why it would not work.

what are you trying to achive...i mean whats the purpose?....technically boiling destroys all the enzymes after your mash so i dont see why this would harm anything although im fairly new to AG. i dont know of anyone ever trying this.

you can "can" the wort if you want to save it.....but again, what's your intention?

I have saved excess runnings from the MLT, frozen it in a ziploc bag, then thawed later, boiled 15 minutes, cooled it and used for a yeast starter.

But what are YOU trying to gain by freezing half your wort?

malkore said:

I have saved excess runnings from the MLT, frozen it in a ziploc bag, then thawed later, boiled 15 minutes, cooled it and used for a yeast starter.

But what are YOU trying to gain by freezing half your wort?

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Bingo- that's what I do too, 'cept I usually freeze it in an ice cream pail.

Funny how everyone jumps on a new and different post. Interested, figuring out the puzzle, showing knowledge. What are you doing, what are you trying, how is it working, AWW, that will never work.

Let me add mine - WTF, Why would you want to do that???

Actually I'm only going to have a 20 qt stock pot for right now, but I figured if I'm going to mash that day anyways, I might as well mash for a 5 gallon batch. Then, save it for another day of boiling. Using it for a starter intrigues me also though.

My suggestion: get a second 20qt pot, split your runnings, and do a double boil to get a full 5 gallon batch.

nothing wrong with half batch AG brews, if you don't mind all the work for less 'payoff' (fewer bottles of beer).

my stove can't boil large pots due to heat sensors in the ceramic cooktop...but i can do two small boils, split hops evenly, then combine in the fermenter.

the only downside: two pots to clean, and two pots to prevent from boiling over during the initial hotbreak.

malkore said:

I have saved excess runnings from the MLT, frozen it in a ziploc bag, then thawed later, boiled 15 minutes, cooled it and used for a yeast starter.

But what are YOU trying to gain by freezing half your wort?

Click to expand...

i cant believe i never though about that for starters. Its perfect.

on a side note..., doesnt yeast impart specific flavors as its startring up...and if you use a starter, wouldnt it bypass those initial flavors in some beer