Canning wort

[seadad9903]

Has anyone canned unfermented wort? I have looked around the net and not found anything about it.


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[SudsyPaul]

There's a ton of info. You need to pressure can your wort (some people don't, but botulism is scary)

https://byo.com/stories/item/434-canning-yeast-starters
http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/starter-made-easy-pressure-cooking-your-starter-wort-ahead-time

Essentially, if you have extra from the mash, you can just dump it into your mason jars and pressure can them. I did 14psi for 20min.

If you're using DME, you can either boil the DME with water and then drop that in mason jars, or just mix the DME with hot water in individual mason jars (do the math for 1.038-040 in each jar) and then pressure can.

I have 12 mason jars in the basement with canned wort from DME... best thing ever. No excuse to not make a starter.

 

[seadad9903]

Thanks for the links. Never saw those in my searches.

I canned a gallon of a red IPA wort from a recipe I am playing with. Only did a water bath canning, as I was under the impression that wort is acidic and wouldn't need pressure canning. Do you pressure can just to be safe, or is the wort not acidic?

 

[poptarts]

pretty sure its not acidic enough and without pressure you cant get the temp up enough to kill botulism, thus you will die.

 

[seadad9903]

good to know. dying would put a serious crimp in my brewing

 

[wingedcoyote]

Hm, I wonder if it could be acidic enough though. Use a decent amount of sauermalz or lactic and I bet you could get the PH low enough to be safe, and if sacch can handle a sour mashed Berliner it would probably be okay with that. Might cut into the effectiveness of your starters, though.

 

[Diaperload]

Isn't there a Mexican drink that is basically unfermented wort?

Also, a local company called Boneyard is now selling unfermented wort marketed to dogs. It's called Dawg grog...non-alcoholic.

I'm sure you can can it.

 

[poptarts]

Isn't there a Mexican drink that is basically unfermented wort?

Also, a local company called Boneyard is now selling unfermented wort marketed to dogs. It's called Dawg grog...non-alcoholic.

I'm sure you can can it.

you can can it, you just need a pressure caner.

 

[Brad2287]

You could acidify it to make it safe for water bath canning. This most likely would have a negative impact on yeast health. If you wanted you could neutralize the acid bringing the pH back to approx 5.4 but honestly buying a pressure cooker is easier, they are not that expensive, and it opens up other areas of yeast ranching that sterilization is needed. It should also be noted that the botulinum toxin is destroyed by boiling. If one were to use water bath canned wort which I would not recommend atleast boil it prior to use to destroy any toxin that might have developed.

 

[mikescooling]

I know lots of us pressure can wort for starters. Having it at room temp ready anytime you want, is priceless. There is some debate in the sugar and acid content.

 

[Denny]

Hm, I wonder if it could be acidic enough though. Use a decent amount of sauermalz or lactic and I bet you could get the PH low enough to be safe, and if sacch can handle a sour mashed Berliner it would probably be okay with that. Might cut into the effectiveness of your starters, though.

Even a sour mashed Berliner does not have a low enough pH.

 

[JJFlash]

Been doing canned wort for starters for years. Started off doing an all grain mash for the wort. Past few years have switched to using LME. Both work equally well for starters. When I started making 12 gallons at a time it was easier and faster to use LME. Pressure cooker is the only way to safely can wort.

 

[seadad9903]

Thanks for all the info. Since possibly catching botulism is not on my bucket list I'll invest in a pressure canner


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[SudsyPaul]

This is what I have: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000BYCFU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Worth every penny, IMHO. You could probably find these in second-hand stores, too... My grandparents and parents all had one of these in their homes, and I'm pretty sure most people under 30 couldn't identify what that thing is So you could get it for a steal, depending on where you live (and how many hipsters are in your town)

 

[LibertyBrewer]

When I make a Noble Pils clone, it calls for a quart of wort added during the diacetyl rest. I usually just pull a quart of wort off at flame out into a sanitized quart mason jar. I cap it and put it in the fridge. It will keep for a couple of weeks that way.

 

[SudsyPaul]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you could keep all your canned wort in the fridge, after a water bath, but I'd rather fill my fridge with food and/or beer than just canned wort (esp. if it won't be used for several months)

 

[ArcLight]

Tip for pressure canning pre-made wort (for starters) -
Lets say your starter size is 1 liter, you don't need to use a 1 liter jar. Use enough extract or a high enough gravity wort that if you add distilled/sterilized water to it, will reach the gravity you want.

Ex: with a 500 ML jar, store wort with a gravity of 1.074, and add 500ML of water when ready to use.

If using a 16 ounce jar, use a gravity of 1.078, and add enough water to reach the 1 liter (i.e. add 18 ounces of water).

 

[seadad9903]

Honestly I had never considered canning wort for a starter. Although I probably will now.

My issue that started this is that I have a limited amount of temperature controlled space to store bottled beer. So I was looking for a way to brew 5 gal of wort, pull off 2 gal to store and ferment 3 gal.

Then I would be able to pull a little at time when I started to run low.


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[NAVYSQURL]

If space is your underlying issue then you should probably think about doing all-grain stove top 1gallon batches. This makes a helluva superior beer and you can experiment your butt off. I bought the supplies for 3 1gallon batches and I made a Jalapeno Saison that was amazing. This is a great way to start training for All-Grain also.

Also if you are brewing 5 gallon batches I found that switching to 22oz bottles saves on space also. I personally bottle in 15.2oz Grolsch swing top bottles.

I think everyone else is is canning wort for YEAST STARTERS not for a beer shortcut. I think what you want is to use the canned wort to pitch yeast and ferment.

 

[cfrazier77]

I have done more starters since I started canning wort. I add DME and then water, then pressure cooker. I do a lot starters now where I ramp it up a second time also. It is too easy not to when you have room temp wort.

 

[YellowRiver]

Wow great thread. Ive done a bunch of searches and only found all the info contained here.
Put me in the canned starter wort club. No excuse not to make a starter.
As much as I love brew days, I don't particularly love planning for a brew day, except maybe that trip to the LHBS.