Making starter wort

[bschot]

So I thought of instead of buying DME to make starters, why not just use 2 row malt to make about 2 gallons of starter wort which makes 8 quarts, which a quart is a little less than a liter. Only issue is storage, my solution was to can the wort with a pressure cooker.

Why this is attractive, according to Beer Smith it takes 3 lbs of 2-row to make a 2 gallon batch of 1.041 wort at a cost of $3.45 for the grain versus 2 lbs of Briess Dried Malt Extract- Golden Light at a cost of $8.80. Prices from midwestsupplies.com. Also I'm new to AG so I think this would be great practice, if I screw up I'm only out $1.15 a pound.

I plan on adding 1 pellet of whatever hops I have to each quart and yeast nutrient according to the directions for the batch.

I know that this has been done, I'm just curious about people's experiences doing this, what are the drawbacks if any. Any and all thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[jwatkins56550]

No need to add hops, you'll just add more trub.

The only drawback to using 2 row instead of dme is time and energy.

I opt for dme and make a 3 gallon batch, I don't have to do it often, so the extra cost isn't as big of a deal

 

[caiafa]

Just filter the trub when you brew and save that in the freezer. You should get about 1.5l per brew.
When you need a starter, thaw that and boild it for 10 minutes and you're good to go.

 

[bschot]

I read on another how-to to add a little hops for some antiseptic properties. But if one is canning with a pressure cooker than the hops really shouldn't be necessary.

I don't mind the time and energy, its just a few hours of an afternoon or morning. Its cheap practice (much less disappointing if I miss my numbers, I can always toss and start over) and I get to play with my brewing equipment, don't want my mash tun to get lonely.

 

[matpat]

Since going all grain back in late March/early April, I usually prepare an extra two gallons of sparge water for my 10g batches and then do a third sparge into a smaller boil pot to collect some starter wort.

I seem to average a gravity of 1.015 -1.020 on this third sparge. I boil this down to about a gallon or so of 1.040 wort for starters and when I'm lazy I boil it for about 15 minutes to use as a lower gravity starter wort for culturing yeast from commercial brews.

I bought a couple of Slimline Beverage Containers from my local Wal Mart for about $3 each. I keep a container of each starter wort in my fridge Seems to be working out well for me so far. I always have starter wort on hand when needed

 

[kapbrew13]

How long can the premade stater wort be stored for? Years?

 

[bschot]

The author of the website I found for this said he had used starter from over a year old and it worked fine, it does get darker with time though. Decanting most of the beer off of the starter would hopefully avoid changing the color of the beer too much.

 

[kapbrew13]

The author of the website I found for this said he had used starter from over a year old and it worked fine, it does get darker with time though. Decanting most of the beer off of the starter would hopefully avoid changing the color of the beer too much.

Good news. I decant most of the extra liquid.