Anyone ever use Fast Pitch canned wort for starters?

[Hello]

@bobbytuck thanks for the writeup. Did you add water though?

Though making a starter is easy as pie, I wouldn't be opposed to actually using these. I've read about people just adding DME to bottled water and never boiling, but I would be worried about infection since I buy a large bag of DME and just pour out whatever I need. The DME seems like it needs to be boiled.

Either way, the cost is not so prohibitive that I would be completely steered away. I think I'll buy some cans and see how much I like he uber convenience.

 

[bobbytuck]

@bobbytuck thanks for the writeup. Did you add water though?

Either way, the cost is not so prohibitive that I would be completely steered away. I think I'll buy some cans and see how much I like he uber convenience.

Yes - 32oz with the 2 cans.

 

[3toes]

Either way, the cost is not so prohibitive that I would be completely steered away. I think I'll buy some cans and see how much I like he uber convenience.

I'm planning on picking up a pack just to have in case I find myself in need. I may on a whim decide I want to brew in a few days but don't have the time to run to my lhbs and grab some DME if I'm out. Plus my lhbs has weird hours sometimes...

Are these things going to replace the process of mixing and boiling DME? No, but it's a good idea and super convenient.


And like I said earlier in the thread, just the SMELL of boiling DME will keep me making my own for the foreseeable future. Mmmmmm so good.

 

[Bellybuster]

bobbytuck gotta ask.... starter for a 2.5 gallon batch??
Regardless, it'll be interesting to see your results.

Did you taste the canned wort?

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I run all my starters in pasteurized apple juice from trader joes. The best part is, when I "decant," I can bottle or drink straight the cider.
After a few generations, I harvest pacman from sixpacks of deadguy by pitching the dregs into a fresh bottle of applejuice, and I am on my way within a few days.
It could be argued that I am contributing off flavors from the juice, but I'm pretty good about decanting and just pitching the yeast when it comes carboy time. I haven't noticed any off flavors yet, and the pacman/AJ brew actually tastes cleaner than powdered s05 from my limited experience.

 

[thekraken]

Is it ironic that this thread has inspired me to get a pressure canner? Found a sweet deal on craigslist...

 

[wilserbrewer]

I run all my starters in pasteurized apple juice from trader joes. The best part is, when I "decant," I can bottle or drink straight the cider.

After a few generations, I harvest pacman from sixpacks of deadguy by pitching the dregs into a fresh bottle of applejuice, and I am on my way within a few days.

It could be argued that I am contributing off flavors from the juice, but I'm pretty good about decanting and just pitching the yeast when it comes carboy time. I haven't noticed any off flavors yet, and the pacman/AJ brew actually tastes cleaner than powdered s05 from my limited experience.

This is a great idea, thanks!

 

[bobbytuck]

bobbytuck gotta ask.... starter for a 2.5 gallon batch??
Regardless, it'll be interesting to see your results.

Did you taste the canned wort?

No taste. Smelled like wort, though. No weirdness.

Yeah, starter for a 2.5 gallon batch. Why not? Rather have an overpitch than an underpitch.

Doing the same thing for a black lager I'm brewing on Sunday. I'm anxious to see if the starter starts the fermentation faster than just a straight pitch of a couple Wyeast packets. My lagers always freak me out with slow starts. They turn out fine -- but what the heck, maybe this will speed things up a bit. Who knows.

 

[BrewerBrad82]

I am going to have to basically echo @bobbytuck review of the Fast Pitch. I picked some up last week at the NB retail store and whipped up a starter on Thurs night. It was the fastest and easiest starter I have ever made - it literally took 3 minutes to do it all. I used two cans to make a 2 liter starter for a 1.050 brown porter, and the Wyeast 1335 took off in the starter in just a few hours. Popped it in the fridge on Saturday afternoon so the yeast would settle in time for pitching on Sunday afternoon. SOOOO easy and convenient that I really doubt I will make starters out of DME anymore - $5 for a 3 minute, 2 liter starter??? Yes... the time savings and ease are completely worth it. Ive got to say that it is a great product.

 

[RmikeVT]

Interesting, might be something nice to keep on hand. I brew outdoors, wife can't stand the smell, which means I do all my starters outside too. This could be handy during the winter, when I don't feel like freezing my butt off just to make a starter.

You seriously make your starters outside? Wife can't handle the smell for 5 minutes it takes to make a starter? I know the drill though, happy wife happy life.

I haven't gotten around to it, but I've always wanted to make a bulk starter from all grain. Make a couple gallons and then freeze in soda bottles or something like that. I guess the trade-off of time to do that and take up freezer space hasn't met the intersection of just using dry extract.

 

[thekraken]

You seriously make your starters outside? Wife can't handle the smell for 5 minutes it takes to make a starter? I know the drill though, happy wife happy life.

I haven't gotten around to it, but I've always wanted to make a bulk starter from all grain. Make a couple gallons and then freeze in soda bottles or something like that. I guess the trade-off of time to do that and take up freezer space hasn't met the intersection of just using dry extract.

What about just bumping up a batch's recipe by a gallon or so and using that extra wort for starters? 2 birds 1 stone kinda thing.

 

[RmikeVT]

What about just bumping up a batch's recipe by a gallon or so and using that extra wort for starters? 2 birds 1 stone kinda thing.

Yea, I've thought about that too. Or just pulling off a 1500mL for a real wort starter just to pitch it back into the wort the next day. I guess you would have to be comfortable enough with your process to leave the wort for 12 hours before pitching your yeast. I've read thats what some no chill folks do. While their wort is cooling in a container, they make a starter and the starter is ready to go in about the same time as it takes the wort to cool down.

 

[douglasbarbin]

What about just bumping up a batch's recipe by a gallon or so and using that extra wort for starters? 2 birds 1 stone kinda thing.

I do this sometimes, although I dilute and boil the starter wort separately so it isn't hopped.

 

[Rootski]

I thought I'd add my small experience. I picked up a 4-pack last week from NB. I did a small 1L starter on some WLP644 that I had laying around. Definitely the easiest starter I've ever done and I'm happy so far. It cost me $2.50 to make my starter and saved me more than that in time. I think if large starters or multiple steps are required, then this product might not be the best option, but for a 1L or 2L starter there is a good market for this.

 

[Homercidal]

People voiced concerns over adding unboiled water to the canned wort on their website.

The response was that if the water is safe to drink it's safe for making a starter from...

Uh, ok, so why not just mix some dry DME into a flask and call it a day? So much cheaper!

 

[BrewerBrad82]

I see it as the exact same thing as doing a partial boil extract batch and then topping up with cold water. People do that all the time, Adding water to the concentrated Fast Pitch is no different in my mind.

 

[douglasbarbin]

I see it as the exact same thing as doing a partial boil extract batch and then topping up with cold water. People do that all the time, Adding water to the concentrated Fast Pitch is no different in my mind.

I agree. Meaning, it is bad practice to do either of those things.

 

[thekraken]

I agree. Meaning, it is bad practice to do either of those things.

You referring to just tap water or any water that's not previously boiled?

 

[douglasbarbin]

You referring to just tap water or any water that's not previously boiled?

Tap water. Distilled, bottled, or RO should be fine.

 

[bobbytuck]

I've made three starters now with fast pitch. Used regular tap, sanitized yeast pack, tops of starters, flask, stir bar.

Just sampled the first one I pitched a week ago. Didn't decant -- just poured entire flask in fermenter. No issues -- no infection. Quick start, fast finish.

Really happy.

 

[mull0263]

Have used these 3 times thus far and have had horrible attenuation every time. Thought these would be a time saver over making starters with DME, and while they were, it's not worth the cost of stuck fermentations. There are plenty of positive reviews on NB, so maybe variables have changed in my brewing process concurrently to using Fast Pitch unbeknownst to me, but this has crippled my last 3 batches and using Fast Pitch as my starter is the only thing that has changed in the process that I know of.

Needless to say, I won't be using them again and do not recommend them.

 

[BrandonS]

People voiced concerns over adding unboiled water to the canned wort on their website.

The response was that if the water is safe to drink it's safe for making a starter from...

Uh, ok, so why not just mix some dry DME into a flask and call it a day? So much cheaper!

I got a couple cans for free that I haven't used yet. Adding tap water to the process is the deal breaker for me. Why would I want to start off with less than ideal sanitation so early in the process, especially if I want to overbuild. As others mentioned, I might as well just use Malta or some apple juice.

The part that bugs me is I rated it low on NB for this reason and it seems my review was filtered and I was given a 10% off code instead. It has made the decision easy for me to purchase a pressure canner. I will add DME to water like you say, then pressure can it for the piece of mind.

 

[parrothead64]

I got a couple for free so I used them and it was fine I don't know if I would buy them that was not that big a deal to use DME

 

[parrothead64]

I might use them again if I needed to step up a starter

 

[AK7007]

Adding tap water to the process is the deal breaker for me. Why would I want to start off with less than ideal sanitation so early in the process, especially if I want to overbuild. As others mentioned, I might as well just use Malta or some apple juice.

While I also use apple juice (hard cider as a byproduct of brewing is A-OK with me) - I just want to point out to people that this bit about tap water being a beer contaminant is typically unfounded. Municipal tap water contains basically nothing living besides a tiny bit of caulobacter, (even then the caulobacter is probably living on the tap outlet rather than pipes, though that's a guess) which aren't going to compete with yeast. I say this as a person who used to do the whole "streak tap water on LB/YPD" demo in college microbio labs for students. Maybe your location isn't up to standard, but federal regulations have no tolerance for fecal coliform contamination, really low HPC counts, and wild yeast/lacto/pedio aren't hanging out in your water pipes.

 

[Zepth]

What about just bumping up a batch's recipe by a gallon or so and using that extra wort for starters? 2 birds 1 stone kinda thing.

I've done this, usually by accident. Slight oversparge leads to wort that won't fit into fermenter, or if it does then the batch won't fit the keg. Bottle it up and freeze it.

People voiced concerns over adding unboiled water to the canned wort on their website.

The response was that if the water is safe to drink it's safe for making a starter from...

Uh, ok, so why not just mix some dry DME into a flask and call it a day? So much cheaper!

Finally someone said this! This was my exact train of thought as soon as I read a couple lines into the thread. I do this all the time and have yet to be burned by it.

Something else that people don't seem to be catching is that for some reason there are folks out there who are pitching multiple liquid yeast packs per batch. These seem like a good option for those folks, since $2.50 for a jar / can of wort for a starter is cheaper than another yeast pack.

 

[Rootski]

My guess is that while municipal tapwater is generally contaminant free, DME is not guaranteed to be. DME should be boiled.

 

[FreddyMar3]

On the plus side, it's just a matter of time until competitor products come out at a better price. So in that sense, happy to see that something like this is on the market.

 

[Jkane101]

I'm all for trying new things & methods but I just don't think that adding dme & tap water into my erlenmeyer needs to be changed. I mean its not that hard or time consuming

 

[Zepth]

I'm all for trying new things & methods but I just don't think that adding dme & tap water into my erlenmeyer needs to be changed. I mean its not that hard or time consuming

Exactly! Until this method fails me I see absolutely no reason to change it.