Can wort survive a roadtrip?

[1342]

or precisely, how long can i wait to pitch yeast after brewing? my best friend and brew buddy lives in Austin some 200-ish miles away from me. we get together to brew at each others house 4-6 times a year, so if we brewed a 10 gallon batch and split it, will it be fine to pitch the yeast after the 200 mile journey? anyone have experience with this?

 

[Zuljin]

Some people allow their wort to cool on it's own. No wort chiller. No ice bath. They do okay.

I've brewed in one county and drove it home to pitch. A friend of mine has done the same.

Keep it clean and tightly covered.

 

[Antler]

As long as its sealed so no bacteria can get in, You won't have a problem

 

[somedudefromguam]

Why not just pitch the yeast and then start driving? I don't see how it could hurt. Maybe not have temperature control whilst driving, but I think the agitation of the drive would be good for the yeast.

 

[45_70sharps]

Why not just pitch the yeast and then start driving? I don't see how it could hurt. Maybe not have temperature control whilst driving, but I think the agitation of the drive would be good for the yeast.

If you pitch the yeast then start driving, you won't be able to keep a tight lid on it.
It's going to need to be vented, with an airlock or blowoff tube.
You're going to have to keep water in the airlock or wherever your blow off tube goes, and not have it spill or have the beer spill.
It's not worth the little head start on getting the beer going.

 

[thewurzel]

Don't see why u cant pitch yeast and put lid on for the drive.

The agitation may do the yeast good.

200 miles is only 3- 4 hours the yeast wouldn't really be going to cause any problems in blowing the lid off. most fermentation don't start that quick unless you were to pitch on top of a really large healthy yeast cake.

If you had a big enough vessel you could leave it uncovered to get some good O2 during the agitation. although I don't think this would be a good idea. and if it started that quick it would only be open fermentation.

Seriously I think you would be fine if it was cooled to pitching temps before the trip, pitch the yeast and drive home. when you get home put a different lid on with air lock.

 

[duboman]

IMO opinion you can go ahead and pitch prior to the drive as long as the wort is at or below the desired temp.

It's only 200 miles, the yeast is not going to start actively fermenting before you're home unless of course you drive like 10 mph

Keep it sealed and clean and RDWHAHB!

 

[1342]

thanks for the response everyone. i'm not intending to pitch yeast before the trip anyway, just wanted to make sure the lag time for pitching was ok. and similarly i'm guessing it's ok to wait till my yeast starter is finished before i pitch, instead of having to calculate every step very carefully. ( i have 2 little kids so brewing is hard to do 2 days after making a starter, or when i suddenly have free time to brew and havent made the starter yet.)