Starter with Wheat Extract

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WorryWort

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Hi,

I need to make some starters and my LHBS doesn't carry DME of any kind. In fact no where around here (vancouver, bc) does. Aside - If you know of somewhere please tell me!

Conventional wisdom seems to be to use Light Dried Extract, but the lightest coloured thing he's got is liquid wheat extract.

Is there any reason this won't work well for starters? I will pour off most of the wort and just pitch the yeast slurry, so I don't anticipate any discernible wheat character making it into my brew. Similarly would liquid Pale Malt Extract (10 SRM) be any worse/better?

Thanks!
 
If you are going to make a wheat beer then you have no problem. If you are brewing something else then your step to pour off the liquid will work.

You didn't mention what you are brewing, but depending on the size of your starter you could just use it all in your brew.
 
Yeh, no particular brew in mind. So the size will vary.
I brew quite a bit, 10 gallons a week, so I'm looking for something I can do for all styles and adopt as a regular part of my routine, in absence of DME. Living in Canada it's too expensive to ship DME from the states.
 
Why not just save some unhopped wort from one batch to the next and use that to build up starters?

Yes, this occurred to me, but I have a few questions about how I'd make it work practically. There seems to be little info available on the best ways to do it.

If I do this, can I freeze (or otherwise store) that wort until my next brew day? I usually brew every saturday. I would thaw and boil it, and then pitch my yeast into it for a starter on Friday, pitching into the wort within 24-36 hrs.

I know that I could always collect extra wort and make a starter on the same day, and then hold that starter in the fridge until the next weekend. The problem with this is that I will have no idea what I am brewing the next weekend, so I won't know what yeast to make the starter with. Also there are some beers, like stouts, that might not make great starters for other beers, like blondes, ya know?
 
I would draw off the wort, and boil it, then freeze it and just thaw when you need it. I wouldn't save unboiled wort, due to the risk of some lactobacillus growing in it as it cooled and froze. But if you boil it first, you can freeze/refrigerate, or even can the wort in a pressure canner.
 
The last two starters I made were using bavarian wheat DME for the starter. Both worked excellent. The second used part of a freshly washed 1056 yeast cake and I swear to God it was bubbling within an hour! Might not want to make a huge starter with wheat extract if you're not making a wheat beer though...
 
If I do this, can I freeze (or otherwise store) that wort until my next brew day? I usually brew every saturday. I would thaw and boil it, and then pitch my yeast into it for a starter on Friday, pitching into the wort within 24-36 hrs.

The easiest way, if you have a pressure cooker, would be to can some of the 1.030-1.040 excess wort and let it sit around at room temp until you need it. Shelf stable, ready at a snap, room temp, sterile. What's not to love?
 
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