I would, yes!
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InspectorJon
Well-Known Member
Resurrecting an old thread. 
I have used second runnings for starter wort for a couple years now. If the gravity is too low I boil it on the stove while my beer wort is boiling until I get 1.035 - 1.040. I then cool it, put it in PET soda bottles and freeze. Be sure to leave a couple inches of empty space at the top of the bottle. Essentially free starter wort. I boil it for a few minutes after thawing. This sanitizes it and you get the hot and cold break, reducing trub in the starter. After boiling, cool it in ice water to pitching temperature.
I have used second runnings for starter wort for a couple years now. If the gravity is too low I boil it on the stove while my beer wort is boiling until I get 1.035 - 1.040. I then cool it, put it in PET soda bottles and freeze. Be sure to leave a couple inches of empty space at the top of the bottle. Essentially free starter wort. I boil it for a few minutes after thawing. This sanitizes it and you get the hot and cold break, reducing trub in the starter. After boiling, cool it in ice water to pitching temperature.
Bottoms_Up
Well-Known Member
That is exactly what I've been doing lately.Resurrecting an old thread.
I have used second runnings for starter wort for a couple years now. If the gravity is too low I boil it on the stove while my beer wort is boiling until I get 1.035 - 1.040. I then cool it, put it in PET soda bottles and freeze. Be sure to leave a couple inches of empty space at the top of the bottle. Essentially free starter wort. I boil it for a few minutes after thawing. This sanitizes it and you get the hot and cold break, reducing trub in the starter. After boiling, cool it in ice water to pitching temperature.
I start out with 3 liters (I generally use a 3 liter yeast starter so I can later save one liter for the next starter and use the remaining two liters in the lager I'm making) and boil it down to the reduced volume needed to fit the bottles and allow for the expansion of ice. I allow 7% space in the PET bottles for expansion of the ice. Ice expands to 9% but the pressure produced in the bottles reduces it to about 7%. I then pour the wort in the bottles at about 180-190 F, squeeze them to let out the air, and freeze them.
When I'm ready to use them, I let them thaw out at room temperature (takes about 3/4 day), or you can put them in a sink of hot water for much faster thawing. I put this in a pot, add enough water to get it back to 3 liters, plus some for loss during boiling, and then I boil it for 15 minutes, topping up with water when needed to get the right volume (and specific gravity). I use a small measuring dowel to determine if I have the right volume (volume measurement adjusted for boiling temperature).
I then pour the 3 liters of wort in an Erlenmeyer flask and add yeast. Then I start the yeast stirrer. Once done, I save one liter of this in a Mason jar (refrigerated) to use for my next yeast starter, and place the remaining 2 liters in a larger Mason jar and refrigerate it. After a few days, the yeast will have mostly settled to the bottom (lager yeast takes much longer to settle than ale yeast). I pour off the clear liquid, and add the yeast slurry to the beer I'm making.
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Absolutely. It wasn't boiled in the first place. Even if it were, I would just to be safe, anyway.
