All grain yeast starter recipe

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muddylars

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Hi,
I am looking into starter to propagate a significant amount of yeasts. Instead of buying all the DME to make the starter wort I was thinking of just brewing a simple batch of beer to use as starter wort. Any suggestions on this? I was just going to shoot for a 6 gal batch of 1.045 wort using only pale ale malt? Should I use any hops to aid in preserving the wort? Any other types of grain? Thanks a lot!
-Lars
 
How are you going to sterilize and store all that wort? Boiling will sanitize but not sterilize and you will need sterility to store this for any length of time - even if you add hops. Fermentation also provides protection, the yeast outcompete any infection and also lower the pH making it a less viable environment for infection. I would just stick to light DME and make it as I go.

GT
 
Well, I have to agree that using DME is certainly easier and worth the extra cost. But, if you've absolutely made up your mind that you want to go through the whole mash process to make a starter:

Just use pale malt to make the beer, like you said. No other grains. I would add some hops to help preserve the wort. The challenge will be to keep it from getting infected, though, as you now have a sugar solution that microbes love. I suppose you could freeze it ASAP, then, before you use it, bring the temp up to boiling and cool it back down again to pitch. That'll go a long way to making sure nothing is in there that could take over the starter instead of your yeast.

Like I said, I think you'll find that this is an excessive amount of work for a starter. But, if you want to try it, feel free!
 
Just can the starter wort in quart of pint jars. Make you use a pressure canner and do 250F for at least 30min. There is no need to even boil the wort. Once you are done sparging just mix the wort very well, put in canning jars then into the pressure canner.
 
Pressure cooker. Just a small investment, get one as big as you can, it might cost 30-40$ I think. You're going to load wort into mason jars and pressure cook them. You can even use mash wort without boiling, since you'll be uber-boiling it in the cooker.

More money-saver:
I reuse the wort leftover in my kettle after making simple light beers. I end up with almost a gallon of hop and cold-break trub, which I then run through a cloth rag in a funnel, filtering everything out. Then I add water to get the gravity I want (1.040), and pack into the pressure cooker.
You can then keep that wort at room temp for a loooong time. I have free starters of various sizes for myself and several folks in my club.

If you're making your own all-grain starter wort, just use plain base malt mashed at a low temp. You want it highly fermentable. Adding hops is good, just a few pellets at the start of the boil. Also try to get some yeast nutrient and throw it in there as well. I like Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend.

In any case you really want the pressure cooker to keep things safe and stable.
 
My procedure is to sparge with an extra gallon or two after each mash. The tail runnings will generally be 1.010-1.020, depending on the OG of the beer. So I boil it down by about half and store it in the freezer. If you wanted to can it at that point, that would be easier than thawing and re-boiling it to make the starter.
 
I'm not sure this is sound advice. I can lots of vegetables from my garden and unless something is high in acid (e.g., most fruits and tomatoes) it has to be pressure canned to prevent the possibility of a botulism infection. You don't always get second chances if botulism takes over.

If you are storing wort for a lenghty period of time you should really be using the pressure canner.

Maybe you missed the THREE times he said pressure cooker?
 
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