Canning Wort for Starters

[tlazaroff]

Hi all.
I had a question in which search didn't pull any information on. I am curious about canning wort for using in starters at a later date. I know when you can fruits and such, it stays preserved for up to a year. I was wondering if there are any special steps needed to take when canning wort, or if it's done the same way.

I plan to make a large 4-gallon batch of wort for use in starters, then can it in 1-liter segments so I can make 1 to 2 liter starters at anytime during the year. I figure it saves time doing it this way.

Any insight would be great!

-Tim

 

[EdWort]

You need a pressure canner. Just make some 1.040 wort and can it in quart jars. It must be canned @ 15 psi for 15 minutes.

 

[tlazaroff]

You need a pressure canner. Just make some 1.040 wort and can it in quart jars. It must be canned @ 15 psi for 15 minutes.

Great, thats what I was going to do anyway. Thanks for the confirmation, and thanks for the quick reply.

 

[speter]

Basic Brewing Video recently did just this topic: Basic Brewing .

 

[tlazaroff]

Basic Brewing Video recently did just this topic: Basic Brewing .

Oh wow, I subscribe to this, and I don't remember this one. Thanks for the find.

 

[Carter1932]

I've got canned wort from 1995, guess I could toss it out now, still looks good though.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I've got canned wort from 1995, guess I could toss it out now, still looks good though.

If it's still sealed it should be good. As long it's not contaminated, yeast don't care what it tastes like.

How is it that you still have canned wort that old? Sounds like you've been slacking on the job

 

[tesilential]

I once had extra wort from a mash and froze it in two 1 quart mason jars. Unfortunately I didn't leave headroom and the jars cracked and I tossed them.

I used to use my pressure cooker as my brew kettle, so it wasn't possible to sterilize them that day.

 

[Carter1932]

If it's still sealed it should be good. As long it's not contaminated, yeast don't care what it tastes like.

How is it that you still have canned wort that old? Sounds like you've been slacking on the job

Yes, it is definitely viable.

I'm not slacking (brewed 40 gallons last month :rockin just never ended up feeling the need to use it so it has been sitting in cellar all this time ignored. When I canned it I was really just doing it to try a different method, but later decided it wasn't really worth the extra effort when a small amount DME can be prepped in 10 minutes. The real reason to pursue this method would be to save money on DME, which was probably my thought at the time.

I also canned some grist at the same time, but I can not recall what I ever intended to so with it, maybe I intended to produce low gravity wort with it, dunno.

 

[EdWort]

it wasn't really worth the extra effort when a small amount DME can be prepped in 10 minutes. .

I'd like to see a DME starter be weighed out, put in a flask, water added, boiled for 10 minutes and cooled to room temperature for yeast to be pitched in 10 minutes.

I love popping off the lid of a jar of canned 1.040 wort without all the prep work, cooking and cooling when I want to make or step up a starter.

Canning Wort starters saves serious time and money if you can All Grain Wort. The convenience is amazing.

 

[Carter1932]

True, hadn't considered the time cooling ... maybe I will try this out after 16 year of dormancy.

 

[EdWort]

True, hadn't considered the time cooling ... maybe I will try this out after 16 year of dormancy.

You'll love it. Canning DME wort will only save time in making starters, but the convenience is great!

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

You'll love it. Canning DME wort will only save time in making starters, but the convenience is great!

I love it too, I can make short work of doing a yeast starter.

Here's my write-up about it: Wort canning

M_C

 

[smpow]

You need a pressure canner. Just make some 1.040 wort and can it in quart jars. It must be canned @ 15 psi for 15 minutes.

Pressure cooking it - that is interesting. I didn't think that it would be required. Is it because it is low in acidity? I am curious to know the science behind needing to pressure cook if anyone knows.
Thanks,

 

[EdWort]

Pressure cooking it - that is interesting. I didn't think that it would be required. Is it because it is low in acidity? I am curious to know the science behind needing to pressure cook if anyone knows.
Thanks,

Yep. Low acidity is the reason. Water bath canning will not work.

 

[rcrabb22]

I'd like to see a DME starter be weighed out, put in a flask, water added, boiled for 10 minutes and cooled to room temperature for yeast to be pitched in 10 minutes.

I love popping off the lid of a jar of canned 1.040 wort without all the prep work, cooking and cooling when I want to make or step up a starter.

Canning Wort starters saves serious time and money if you can All Grain Wort. The convenience is amazing.

I find the clean up of the quart jars after using take more time than setting up the starter, pitching the yeast and getting the flasks on the stir plates

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I find the clean up of the quart jars after using take more time than setting up the starter, pitching the yeast and getting the flasks on the stir plates

That's the only thing I don't like about it. I hate cleaning jars. But, I use all widemouth and can fit my hand inside. After I make a starter I just wipe out all the break material and the jars clean a lot easier when I'm ready to do the dishes.

 

[rcrabb22]

That's the only thing I don't like about it. I hate cleaning jars. But, I use all widemouth and can fit my hand inside. After I make a starter I just wipe out all the break material and the jars clean a lot easier when I'm ready to do the dishes.

I use narrow mouth but going to wide mouth might be a good idea as I have to use a rag on a brush to clean inside. A brush alone just doesn't seem to do a good enough job.

 

[zman]

I use narrow mouth but going to wide mouth might be a good idea as I have to use a rag on a brush to clean inside. A brush alone just doesn't seem to do a good enough job.[/QUOTE


I spray them out with the faucet sprayer and soak them in PBW or Oxyclean for an hour or so.

 

[rcrabb22]

I use narrow mouth but going to wide mouth might be a good idea as I have to use a rag on a brush to clean inside. A brush alone just doesn't seem to do a good enough job.[/QUOTE


I spray them out with the faucet sprayer and soak them in PBW or Oxyclean for an hour or so.

I would soak jars in hot oxyclean to get the hot break material off the jar walls for approx 2 hours then take a brush to them. After a rinsing I held the jars up to the light I could see a film with tiny brush bristle lines in it. Using a rag the film is totally removed.

 

[EdWort]

I find the clean up of the quart jars after using take more time than setting up the starter, pitching the yeast and getting the flasks on the stir plates

I rinse them and then they go in the dish washer. Takes about 10 seconds max.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I rinse them and then they go in the dish washer. Takes about 10 seconds max.

Same here. Use, rinse, dishwasher.

M_C

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I've been wanting to get a dishwasher. Maybe if I think of it more as an addition to the brewery I can bump it up on my priority list

 

[JKoravos]

To the OP...make more than 4 gallons. You'll be shocked how fast you go through the canned wort.


EDIT: I canned just over 4 gallons of wort in July and it's already gone. I've only made five 10 gal batches in that stretch. If you're pitching the proper amount of yeast and not harvesting, you can go through a buttload of starter wort. I'm making another 12 gal batch of starters tonight. That will probably last me almost a year.

 

[onthedot]

Can you use these same principles for canning priming solution?

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Can you use these same principles for canning priming solution?

You certainly could. Personally, I don't, and it's because my volume to the bottle can change a good bit. So I measure priming sugar, measure the water, bring it to a boil and put in the bottling bucket. I don't wait for it to cool down, so my total time savings wouldn't be all that great.

M_C

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Can you use these same principles for canning priming solution?

Yeah I've done that too. Don't anymore because I keg now. You can also make up sterile water to keep on hand. Comes in handy on occassions.

 

[beninan]

Hmm, I've done things a little differently, so maybe someone could tell me if what I've been doing is a completely incorrect way to do it.

What I have done is collect my wort and start to boil is in a normal pot (not a pressure cooker). Meanwhile, I sanitize several mason jars and heat them up in the oven to around 200 degrees. After the wort has boiled for around 10 minutes, I pour the boiled wort directly into the hot mason jars and seal them. When they cool, a vacuum seal is created. I DO boil the wort again when I go to use it for a starter though, and even after sitting for a couple months the wort still smells fine, and the yeast starters have ended up fine.

So maybe the method I use is ok only if I plan to boil the wort again before using??? And if I wanted to use the wort directly without boiling it again, I would have to pressure can them??? Maybe?

 

[Exbeerienced]

My understanding is that in the history of mankind, there is not a single case of anyone ever having been poisoned by starter wort that was hot water bath canned, as opposed to pressure canned. Of course, the pat response here is that no one wants to be the first.

 

[EdWort]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]Wort is low acid.

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]Pressure canning is the only safe method of preserving vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood. Jars of food are placed in 2 to 3 inches of water in a special pressure cooker which is heated to a temperature of at least 240° F. This temperature can only be reached using the pressure method. A microorganism called Clostridium botulinum is the main reason why pressure processing is necessary. Though the bacterial cells are killed at boiling temperatures, they can form spores that can withstand these temperatures. The spores grow well in low acid foods, in the absence of air, such as in canned low acidic foods like meats and vegetables. When the spores begin to grow, they produce the deadly botulinum toxins(poisons).
[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]The only way to destroy these spores is by pressure cooking the food at a temperature of 240°F, or above, for a specified amount of time depending on the type of food and altitude. Foods that are low acid have a pH of more than 4.6 and because of the danger of botulism, they must be prepared in a pressure canner. [/SIZE][/FONT]