A question about starter wort procedure and storage:

Since beginning all grain batches I have making use of that leftover grain and bottling the extra runnings from my mashtun for later use in starters. I hate having bags of DME open and half used as they always make a mess. I have also had better success with starters using wort from all grain diluted to OG 1.04 compared to 2 cups water ½ cup dme.

My question is about preserving the wort after you have bottled and procedure for making a starter:

If you take it out of the MLT boil it, and pour into sanitized bottles, then cap it, does in need to be refrigerated? What is the shelf life of this stuff? Are there any benefits to keeping it cool?

My homebrew buddies and I were discussing whether it would be safe to just open a bottle at room temp and pitch the yeast directly in, or if you would want to re-boil the wort before pitching into a starter. I lean more towards the safe side so I would always boil again before making the starter, but I wanted to see if anyone else had experience with this.

Thanks!

You basically want to can the wort. If you plan on using it quickly, you could probably just keep it in the fridge for a day or two, but I wouldn't trust letting the stuff sit around for a long time (fridge or no). Definitely boil it again before making your starter.

If you want to store it for longer, you'll need a pressure cooker and some mason jars.

MalFet said:

You basically want to can the wort. If you plan on using it quickly, you could probably just keep it in the fridge for a day or two, but I wouldn't trust letting the stuff sit around for a long time (fridge or no). Definitely boil it again before making your starter.

If you want to store it for longer, you'll need a pressure cooker and some mason jars.

Click to expand...

Right. Or freeze it in plastic containers and then bring to a brief boil before cooling and adding yeast.

Putting the cooled wort into sanitized bottles and capping is fine- if you keep it in the fridge. But it's not sterile, just sanitized, and room temperature means that any microbes could grow. To do that, you'd need to use a pressure canner just like with canning green beans.