Anybody do a small mash for starter?

[Hwk-I-St8]

I've always just used DME to create my starters, but the extract always seems so darn expensive. Anybody ever mash a small amount of grains for a starter?

Similarly, I was looking at the canned wort for starters that you can buy and wondering if it's possible to "can" (in jars like jam) a light wort for use in starters. Anybody ever try this?

 

[LLBeanJ]

I wouldn't do a mash for a single starter, as it's just too much work to save a buck or two. You can definitely pressure can starter wort, though. There's a thread around here somewhere.

I mash about 6 lbs of grain, followed by a 15 min boil and then pressure can the wort into 12x 1 qt jars and 12x 1 pint jars. Throwing a starter together from canned wort takes all of about 5 minutes.

Here's a link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wort-canning-to-save-time.html

 

[schematix]

I've definitely considered it, but unless making at least a couple gallons of wort it's not worth it to me due to the time investment.

One other potential option that i occasionally entertain, is to make an extra gallon or 2 of wort and freeze that.

But that's also a hassle and takes up valueable freezer space. So as much as i hate spending $5/lb on DME, i just bite the bullet.

 

[Baabaad00]

wow. That's cool. Makes sense. Never heard of it before.

 

[user 246304]

Yep, in some ways just like LLBean. I try to give yeast as close an experience to what they're going to get in actual batch fermentation, so I made a starter wort, jars and sterilize in a huge pressure cooker. It ends up an amazingly clear wort as the pressure generates a ton of trub. Good to go for propagation and we're off to the races.

 

[anotherbeerplease]

Maybe just freeze some runoff wort from your last batch. Then when you need the starter again, warm it up, maybe boil it again for sanitary reasons, and you're golden.

 

[Denny]

I've always just used DME to create my starters, but the extract always seems so darn expensive. Anybody ever mash a small amount of grains for a starter?

Similarly, I was looking at the canned wort for starters that you can buy and wondering if it's possible to "can" (in jars like jam) a light wort for use in starters. Anybody ever try this?

You can pressure can starter wort. Don't do it any other way. You can also freeze it and boil it before you use it.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I have a pressure canner and have canned high and low acid products before (tomatoes, green beans, jams, etc.).

The process isn't too daunting, just not sure if people did it and, if not, why not.

As far as mashing a starter wort, a simple biab in a small cooler would be pretty simple to do.

 

[Derp]

Lately, I've been running off a couple of liters of pre-boil wort and boiling it for about 30 minutes in a flask and then making a starter with in on the stir plate. My ground water is so warm that my immersion chiller can't get the finished wort much below 85, so I just chuck it in my fermentation freezer and call it a day; I'm usually exhausted, overheated and in need of a shower.

When the starter hits high krausen the next day I just pitch it into the fermenter -- no need to crash or decant, since it's the same beer that's in the fermenter.

This has worked well for me for my last several brews and I haven't had to mess with DME.

 

[The_General]

Yes, I'll mash a couple pounds of two row to get a gallon of wort. No hops, no sparge, and no boil. I freeze it in one quart plastic containers and thaw/boil as needed. It works perfectly.