Making Yeast Starter in Saucepan?

[Clint Yeastwood]

Because I made a starter and then found out I didn't have the grain, I have been reading up on starters, and it looks pretty obvious I don't do them quite like everyone else.

I see instructions for boiling in a flask. I tried that before I discovered Fermcap, and I found the flask boiled over very easily. I came up with a different idea. I boil plain old tap water in a pan, throw in the DME, let it dissolve, and pour it into a flask I have just sanitized. Then the usual foil goes on top, and I put it in the sink to cool it, with water up to the level of the yeast. After that, stir plate.

Is there anything wrong with this method? Seems to work fine, and I can throw the pan into the dishwasher, so cleanup isn't a big deal.

 

[Jeroen79]

No i think most people do it that way, as you can't put a flask on a induction stove.

 

[wepeeler]

Because I made a starter and then found out I didn't have the grain, I have been reading up on starters, and it looks pretty obvious I don't do them quite like everyone else.

I see instructions for boiling in a flask. I tried that before I discovered Fermcap, and I found the flask boiled over very easily. I came up with a different idea. I boil plain old tap water in a pan, throw in the DME, let it dissolve, and pour it into a flask I have just sanitized. Then the usual foil goes on top, and I put it in the sink to cool it, with water up to the level of the yeast. After that, stir plate.

Is there anything wrong with this method? Seems to work fine, and I can throw the pan into the dishwasher, so cleanup isn't a big deal.

That's the smart way to do it. I boil my flask directly on my gas stove. I've made 100s of starters, but I know I'm tempting fate every time I do it. I've since switched to Omega's Propper Starter cans. They're expensive, but I don't have to buy ice and waste about an hour or so making a starter.

 

[sibelman]

It doesn't take me an hour. After briefly boiling the tap water and DME, I float the small covered sauce pan in a big bowl of cold water with some ice. It's ready to pitch into my sanitized "flask" (1-gallon apple juice bottle) after not long, though I've never timed it. On goes the stopper and airlock. Occasional swirling. Bob's your uncle.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Another annoying thing about flasks: they won't go in the fridge because they're too tall. I had to turn on a fermenting fridge.

 

[wepeeler]

It doesn't take me an hour. After briefly boiling the tap water and DME, I float the small covered sauce pan in a big bowl of cold water with some ice. It's ready to pitch into my sanitized "flask" (1-gallon apple juice bottle) after not long, though I've never timed it. On goes the stopper and airlock. Occasional swirling. Bob's your uncle.

I'm talking from start to finish, about an hour. With setup, getting water to boil, boiling, cooling, pitching. I bet you're closer to an hour total than you think.

I can make a starter in 5 min with the Propper Starter cans.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I also boil in a sauce pan. I usually mix the water and DME and bring it up to a boil for a few minutes. I doubt boiling is needed, but it helps to ensure that the pot and lid are fully sanitized.

I don't usually use a flask for the starter. This is mostly because I looked at upgrading my 1L starter, and questioned why I should spend $40 on a larger one, when I can get a 1 gallon glass jar with a lid for $10, or reuse a 2L glass pickle jar for free. I just chill in the sauce pan and transfer into the sanitized jar.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I never boil my starter wort, afaik there's no need to and no gain on the effort to justify the risk.

I bring the water to a boil in a pot, take it off the stove and set it in the sink, stir in 2 to 3 drops of Fermcap, then stir in the DME, then fill the sink with cold water and start the cooling process. Once the wort is chilled to pitching temperature I pour it in the sanitized e-flask with the stir bar and yeast already within, then use the last of the wort to rinse the rest of the yeast from the storage jar or if new the purchased package. Add some O2 then set it on the stir plate.

Never mind shattered glassware, this provides zero risk of wort ending up on the range, counter or floor, and incurring The Wrath Of The Spouse
And I've never had an evident infection...

Cheers!

[edit] Bold/italic added for clarity

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I boil it to kill whatever is in the water and on the pan, and to dissolve the DME. I don't know how much microbial life can live on a stainless steel pan, but I figure it can't hurt to get it hot. I admit, I don't boil it a long time or look at a chart to find out if I'm doing it right. Once the DME is dissolved and the pan is hot, I'm happy. I figure I'm sanitizing, not sterilizing.

 

[InspectorJon]

I do BIAB. After draining the bag I put it in a bucket and add a couple quarts of hot water and let it sit while I get the brew kettle boiling. Sometime during the brew process, when I am not doing anything else, I squeeze the cooled bag out. The second runnings I get from this are typical about right for starter wort. I may have to boil it down a bit on the cooktop. his gets frozen in plastic soda bottles. I have not bought DME or made other starter material for a few years now. It is essentially free and gets made during the normal brew day so it does not really take any extra time. If you do fly sparging or batch sparging you could adapt that process to produce a bit more 1.040 gravity wart at the end.

When making a starter I thaw enough the day before, briefly boil it in a pot on the stove, cool it and put it in my stirplate flask. I use an automatic drip coffee maker glass carafe covered with foil as my flask. There are always several of those for sale at the second hand store for a few dollars. Look for the one with the flattest bottom. If I am making a small starter I use the flask from my French press coffee maker.