Make my own pseudo LME for starters?

I was wondering if there is anything wrong with the idea of making my own pseudo LME to save some money when making starters. I've started lagering and making a frozen yeast bank... so it would be nice if I could save some money (and trips to the lhbs) by making my own LME.

My idea is to make a gallon of 1.037 SG wort from 2-row and than make a reduction to get the final volume of ~500ml or 1L. I know that this will probably cause caramelization in the wort, but I don't imagine that to be a problem for a starter, when i can decant off the wort when I pitch. I could than store this reduction in the freezer until I need to use it. To use it I would dilute it back to appropriate gravity and give it a quick boil to ensure sterility. Not really a time saver, but I can easily watch a movie while I wait for the mini mash and reduction boil.

Is there anything wrong with what I am suggesting? Any reason it wont work, or will harm my beer/yeast?

 

It would probably work just fine. It might be more work than its worth. Only you can make that decision, though. I know that for me, DME is my friend.

 

The question here is: "What's my time worth?"

+1 on the DME

 

Instead of reducing it, you should look into canning the 1.037 SG wort and storing it at room temperature.
http://byo.com/yeast/item/434-canning-yeast-starters

 

Most of my beers are fairly big ( 1.070). When I finish my last sparge, I'll pour in a gallon of water, let it sit a while, then drain into tupperware containers and freeze em. When I need a starter, I'll pop one out, boil, cool, and pitch my starter yeast.

 

+1 to just reusing the remains of the last batch. Just sparge off some additional wort and boil it on the stove while you do your main brew. Cool and toss it in the freezer.

 

I agree with BBBF its totally the way to go. When I want to make a starter I sanitize everything and then dump them in the flask. No boiling no cooling. I can make a starter in 5 mins.
Canning day is like a brew day but after that your golden

 

Considering thats its just for starters it'll work just fine. But I'd lean more on the side of a high gravity wort on a very gentle rolling "boil" to reduce it. Get it reduced to around 1.200 or more. If your sterile practices are good during canning you wont have to freeze it.