DME Starter question

So, i was using my flask tonight to make a starter using DME. Does anyone have a good way of getting the DME into the flask? It kept sticking and clumping once it came into contact with the steam.

Surely someone has a trick.

The only trick I know is to put the DME in the flask before you add the water. As you probably already know, you want the OG around 1.030 to 1.040. You do not want to make a high gravity starter to grow yeast. As a ballpark measurement, use about 6 ounces (by weight) of DME to 2 quarts of water. If you're working in metric, it couldn't be easier. Use a 10 to 1 ratio. Add 1 gram of DME for every 10 ml of final volume. (If you're making a 2 liter of starter add 200 grams of DME to the flask, then fill the flask with water until you have 2 liters total.)

FWIW, LME dissolves more readily in hot water and DME in cold water. DME tends to "clump" when added to hot water. Also, I use one of those thin plastic cutting mats to weigh out the DME on my scale and then fold it a little to pour the DME into the flask.

I use a funnel and add when the water is cold. It clumps up, but dissolves once it gets hot.

I dissolve the DME in water in a saucepan, and then pour it into the flask when it is all dissolved.

-a.

ajf said:

I dissolve the DME in water in a saucepan, and then pour it into the flask when it is all dissolved.

-a.

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+1 This really is the best way to do it. Quick, easy and no sticky mess.

Also a word of caution about boiling a starter directly in an Erlinmyer flask. They are good all the way up to the point that they are not. Think about the ramifications if the flask breaks on the stove top and 2000 ml's of hot sticky wort get dumped. Not a mess I would want to deal with, LOL!

For that reason I boil the starter in a huge stainless tea kettle my wife had, key word is "had", and then once cooled I put it in the flask and on to the stirplate.

i guess the advantage of a flask is you can put it on the stir plate. I thought it was meant to be boiled in. I have been nervous about it.

I also didn't think through that i could put the DME in with the water and then bring to a boil. For some reason i brought the water to a boil, added, or tried to add the DME and then boil longer. Your suggestions make perfect sense. My brew day today went much the same as my brain fart last night about the starter.

I always boil my starter in my Erlenmeyer, never had a problem with it.

To make things easier, I start with cold water, and after I weigh out the DME, I pour it onto a piece of wax paper, and then slowly pour it into the flask.

This is my process.

I add water to my flask and toss it on the stove at full heat. Now get a sandwich bag and measure out the amount needed into the bag. Now put the sandwich bag in the neck of the flask and your good to go. the minute or two or whatever it takes to measure the DME and fart around gets the water to a nice warm temp which helps dissolve the DME to some extent but any other clumps get taken care of as the temperature reaches boiling point. Nice and clean and any DME that may stick high up on the side of the flash will fall out when the steam builds up.

kjung said:

I always boil my starter in my Erlenmeyer, never had a problem with it

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Like I stated in my post, borosilicate glass works perfectly all the way up until the moment that it doesn't. You don't get any warning. My brewing buddy used his flask to make dozens, if not more, starters over the course of a few years. Never had any problems going from boil to water bath to ice bath. Then one day...his "never had a problem with it" days were over LOL! Needless to say his wife was not pleased at the 2500 ml's of sticky wort all over her new stove and counter, and behind the stove and behind the fridge. You get the point.

I like the idea of boiling directly in the flask. How about putting the flask on a frying pan that is on the stove? Then if you have a problem it should hopefully be contained. Kinda curious if others have had any problems with borosilicate flasks on the stove as this is how I have been doing it. I would hate to learn the hard way.