DIY Propper/Fast Pitch?

[RobW944]

Hey all,

Had a question about yeast starters. I recently used a can of Propper I picked up at a local HB store for a starter, first time I used it I had previously just made starters from boiling water and adding DME. But a guy got to thinking…DME is pretty cheap and at the low end a can of Propper/Fast Pitch is $4 or so (at least that’s what I paid at HB store). But I was thinking that all the liquid is is boiled wort without hops. Has anyone made their own starter similar to a can of Propper for longer term storage? I would think that if you boil up some wort with DME, cool, and bottle, would it hold for weeks/months to just be able to crack open a bottle and dump it in the flask with the yeast for a starter? I searched YouTube for some videos to see if anyone does this and didn’t really find anything. Is there something I’m overlooking that would make this not feasible to do at home and have bottles on hand of boiled wort to use instead of paying higher prices for the commercial canned stuff?

 

[RobW944]

Welp as soon as I posted I found some more thread results that yes it’s a thing. I think I’ll try it out. Process looks a bit involved with pressure canning, but if it saves 30 mins each brew with boiling and cooling each individual starter, still seems like a time and money saver.

 

[BenBrewin]

Welp as soon as I posted I found some more thread results that yes it’s a thing. I think I’ll try it out. Process looks a bit involved with pressure canning, but if it saves 30 mins each brew with boiling and cooling each individual starter, still seems like a time and money saver.

Yes pressure canning would be the way to go if you want to be 100 percent sure, but if you are only 99 percent sure the rest of your equipment is 100 percent sanitized then you should be able to just bring the wort up to boiling for a few minutes and then cool it off to 170 on your kitchen counter and then pour it into a sanitized container. metal or glass only! if you use a tightened mason jar then it will seal itself in the fridge when it cools down. Alternatively you could pour the wort into open mason jars in your large pot and bring the water temp up to 190 for 10 minutes. Then lock down the lids and refrigerate quickly! The high temps would knock down a large majority of the spoiling bacteria enough to allow you to do a starter using the wort for up to 10 days if unopened. This is for use in brewing only, and cannot be consumed for any other purpose .

 

[BenBrewin]

This is from my own experience and trial and error. It is by no means a proven scientific process but it has worked for me for 20+ years.

 

[hottpeper13]

I use a tip from Noonan's book and that is to make enough wort so you have some for starters and some for conditioning. When my BK is full I put the hose in a sanitized pitcher and collect ~2 qts of 1.020-1.030 unhopped wort and freeze it. I also rack clear wort into my FV and then pour the trub into a pitcher and put in 33* lagerator overnite and pour off the clear wort and freeze. I thaw on counter overnite then bring to boil in stainless pot and let cool. I do pressure can the wort I use for conditioning so I can just pour into a keg or bottling bucket. I haven't bought DME since I went all grain.