I feel stupid every time I make a starter

[duncan.brown]

Of course, you could always use a can of Propper

For comparison, a pressure canner costs somewhere in the region of $400. Add $50 for mason jars and lids, and that $450 buys you 128 cans of Proper starter. If you brew every other weekend, that's about 3 or 4 years worth of starter (assuming your starters range between 1 and 3 liters per batch). Five years if you only ever make 1 liter starters. Factor in the time it takes to pressure can (for me, two lost brew days a year) and that turns out to be a pretty cost-effective solution.

 

[Bassman2003]

I purchased my pressure canner for $70 new (quite a few years ago). They have gone up some but you do not need a fancy one. Presto is the brand I have. Holds 7 large mason jars. 12 mason jars are about ~$10-$12. You could easily pick up a used one as they are simple devices.

 

[duncan.brown]

Good point on the cost. My All-American is overkill for starters, but I also use it as an autoclave.

 

[Bassman2003]

What is the difference when used as an autoclave compared to other canning?

 

[DavidWood2115]

Now that I think about it, I just have no idea how I'd sterilize a keg to be food safe, let alone keep it that way, in an environment where C. botulinum spores could sporulate. I think I'm chalking this one up to an interesting theoretical discussion, but I'm not about to risk an ugly death for a bit of convenience. I'll stick with pressure canned (autoclaved) single use containers of sterile wort.

Good point on sterilizing the keg. Another alternative would be to make or buy a corny lid with a TC port and simply sterilize the fresh wort in the keg, which is pressure rated for far more than the necessary 15psi. You would need to leave the heating element inside to be safe, but I think that should be fine. Alternatively you might be able to find an external heat wrap that would do the trick. You would still need to figure out how to prevent any contamination from entering the keg through the gas and/or liquid ports during use, which would be enough to keep this theoretical (at least for me).

 

[fuzzybee]

Thank, everybody. For my second beer, I used a saucepan for my starter boil, and then added it to my flask. starter turned out fine, and no clumpy DME. I may give Propper starter a go for my next beer.

 

[IslandLizard]

I may give Propper starter a go for my next beer.

Proper has gone down somewhat in price the past year or so. It used to be $6 for a 16 oz can, now it's $3.75, ($15 for a 4-pack, MoreBeer).

DME has gone up quite a bit lately, it's as high as $6 a pound now if bought in 3 pound bags (MoreBeer). My LHBS sells it for $5.33 a pound ($16 for a 3# bag), while it used to be $4 a pound.

Now 1 pound of DME will make 4.5 liter of 1.037 starter wort, or $1.33 a liter (MoreBeer pricing). Using Proper will run you $3.75 a liter, a difference of $2.42 a liter,* almost 3x the cost compared to using DME, just for the convenience.
Not a big issue when you brew once in a while, even once or twice a month, but if you brew more often, or propagate yeast for keeping or sharing, or brew larger batches, it adds up.

* Mind, one liter is not quite the amount needed for most pitches, 1.6-2 liter starters are more common for 5 gallon batches of ale. That allows one to ranch some too. So the price difference between starters made with Proper and DME becomes more significant, and double that, in case of Lagers.

 

[duncan.brown]

What is the difference when used as an autoclave compared to other canning?

Longer times, so I feel a bit more comfortable with the All-American on my stove than one of the cheaper canners.