Pressure Canning Some Wort to Use for the Next Starter?

[GrowleyMonster]

Does anybody do this? Is this a thing? I have a big pressure cooker and sometimes I can stuff, and it occurred to me that canning a quart of my wort from each batch might be great for the next starter.

 

[Jag75]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/freeze-worth-to-use-for-starter.692029/#post-9103147

 

[marc1]

Yes, there's some good discussion here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/all-grain-canned-wort-so-far-so-good.676790/
and here:
https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2014/11/pressure-canning-starter-wort.html
and here:
https://www.maltosefalcons.com/blog...pressure-cooking-your-starter-wort-ahead-time
Keep in mind that there is no official lab-tested recipe for canning wort, so nothing has been proven to be safe from botulism. People have to make judgments about how to run them.

I run quarts in the normal pressure canning run (warm up, vent 10+ minutes, up to pressure then run for the time and allow to cool until pressure is released on its own) at 15PSI for 30 minutes. My reasoning is here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/all-grain-canned-wort-so-far-so-good.676790/page-2#post-8830924

 

[scrap iron]

I used to make a gallon of starter wort using 1 lb of 2-row and a little over 1 gallon water in a small pot with a valve. I would then pressure can 4 quarts at 15 PSI for 15-20 mins. This worked fine but was time consuming.
Now a days I am doing no-sparge mash and am adding 1 gallon of RO water to the mash after collecting the wort. I draw the canning wort which is around 1.035-1.040 SG, perfect for starters, add a little yeast nutrient and then can at 15PSI for 20 mins. I am around 1000 ft elevation and have not had a problem doing this for several years. I then label the type and date of the wort and store in desk in my room. Come time to make a starter I just sanitize the lid and top of jar and pour.

 

[twd000]

I just runoff some of that day's wort to build a quickie vitality starter

keep it on a seedling heat mat for 12-24 hours until I see a healthy krausen, then pitch the whole thing into the main batch

 

[bionicbelly]

Seems to work well. I did a coupe small batches at first. Last time I just did a 6 gallon batch. Took quite awhile, but I should only have to mess with it once or twice a year. I'll be doing this going forward.
FYI- I made a 1.080 wort, so I can do a 2qt starter at 1.040with one jar by adding a quart of wort, and a quart of water.

 

[McMullan]

A few tips. Increase time from the often recommended '15 minutes' to at least 35 minutes. Just because sufficient pressure pops up a valve doesn't mean temperature is high enough for sterilisation. Every autoclave I've ever used takes at least 20 minutes to reach 121*C after sealing. A pressure cooker takes longer. Pressure cook the day after, when the wort is very clear and most of the trub has settled enough to pour off. Otherwise you'll promote very heavy hot break precipitate. Store in the fridge or freezer for long term storage regardless, if you have the space.

 

[bionicbelly]

Pressure cook the day after, when the wort is very clear and most of the trub has settled enough to pour off. Otherwise you'll promote very heavy hot break precipitate.

Hadn't thought of that. That is my only gripe with canning wort. Lots of trub in the jars.

 

[Brooothru]

A few tips. Increase time from the often recommended '15 minutes' to at least 35 minutes. Just because sufficient pressure pops up a valve doesn't mean temperature is high enough for sterilisation. Every autoclave I've ever used takes at least 20 minutes to reach 121*C after sealing. A pressure cooker takes longer. Pressure cook the day after, when the wort is very clear and most of the trub has settled enough to pour off. Otherwise you'll promote very heavy hot break precipitate. Store in the fridge or freezer for long term storage regardless, if you have the space.

Is trub in the starter wort really a problem? I pressure can for :30 mins and do notice quite a bit of settled trub in the starter after having it setting in the cool and dark storage closet. When it comes time to use it, I only pour off the clear wort and sacrifice the remaing ounce or two in the bottom of the jar. I also find varying amounts of settled trub in cans of commercial starter wort like Propper as well. Never had issues of off flavors, though I do crash and decant before pitching.

The only thing I notice when making my own canned starter is that, even when using Extra Light Pilsen DME, the wort comes out quite dark, no doubt due Maillard reaction. But since I decant before pitching it's really not a problem.

 

[McMullan]

Is trub in the starter wort really a problem? I pressure can for :30 mins and do notice quite a bit of settled trub in the starter after having it setting in the cool and dark storage closet. When it comes time to use it, I only pour off the clear wort and sacrifice the remaing ounce or two in the bottom of the jar. I also find varying amounts of settled trub in cans of commercial starter wort like Propper as well. Never had issues of off flavors, though I do crash and decant before pitching.

The only thing I notice when making my own canned starter is that, even when using Extra Light Pilsen DME, the wort comes out quite dark, no doubt due Maillard reaction. But since I decant before pitching it's really not a problem.

For me, yes it's a problem. I prefer using clear, relatively crud-free starter wort. Mainly so I can observe yeast slurry better without too much crud interfering. Decanting is an option, but introduces a need for additional sanitised vessels when a perfectly good sterilised one is already available and containing the correct volume for a starter.