Working with sterile wort

[USMChueston0311]

So I canned a bunch of quart mason jars with sterile wart. My question is, when bumping up a started from a slant or plate etc, is it safe to open one of the big quarts, and use and close, and open again? Won't that defeat the purpose of being sterilized after its exposed to t he open air, when using for the first step of my starter?

Or am I over thinking it? Just do it over my flame lamp, and work as sanitized/sterilized and clean as possible, and re-close and use that same jar again? Or should I can some pint sized jars as well? I will probably do that next go around anyways, just for this issue, but in the mean time will I be ok? Dont want to risk a nasty infection or ruining yeast!

 

[Pappers_]

Well, it would likely be fine. Yes, anytime we expose wort to the air we risk bacteria and wild yeast getting in. But I'm not sure what your other option would be with your quart jars. Do it quickly and minimize the risk seems like a good approach.

 

[myndflyte]

Just inspect the wort in the mason jar before you use it next time. If something starts growing in it, time to toss it.

 

[isomerization]

I wouldn’t just open the mason and hope for the best, recipe for spoiled wort or worse (see:
http://beerandwinejournal.com/botulism/)
. Even if you’re successful in your technique 99/100, that 1% could be quite harmful.

I would keep what you have until you’re ready to use the entire volume. Invest in smaller mason jars and try to make everything single time use.

 

[USMChueston0311]

I wouldn’t just open the mason and hope for the best, recipe for spoiled wort or worse (see:
http://beerandwinejournal.com/botulism/)
. Even if you’re successful in your technique 99/100, that 1% could be quite harmful.

I would keep what you have until you’re ready to use the entire volume. Invest in smaller mason jars and try to make everything single time use.

That is what I am going to do, measure out smaller amounts, and use my quarts for liters, they are just about a liter. Make and use pints, for smaller amounts.

Ive got about 12-15 slant tubes filled with sterile wort, for stepping up off my plates/slants, and then will go from that up to 1 L.

What would you suggest would be a good step up procedure from a slant?

1st step, slant tube of sterile wort, then 1-2L?

 

[isomerization]

You should be fine going from slanted yeast to a 4 oz (~100 mL) mason jar of 1.030 wort. From there, direct pitch into your 1-2 L of 1.040 wort

 

[USMChueston0311]

I only have quart mason jars at the moment.

I have extra sterile wort in the same tubes as I made my slants in. They’re about half full.

I made them in the hopes of adding slanted yeast to the tubes of sterile wort, and from there going to a 2L.

I made the sterile tubes of wort with 1L of water and 70g of DME.

See photo for size of slants. Tubes are half full of sterile wort. Should be fine?

 

[USMChueston0311]

You should be fine going from slanted yeast to a 4 oz (~100 mL) mason jar of 1.030 wort. From there, direct pitch into your 1-2 L of 1.040 wort

Did the math, my tubed sterile wort is 1.025 gravity and my quarts are 1.032.

So I should be fine to add slanted yeast colony with innoculation loop to the tubed sterile wort, then once thats good move up to a 2L?

 

[USMChueston0311]

It’s about 30ML of wort in my tubes

 

[isomerization]

I can’t tell how much volume you have in each slant, but yes, you should be fine jumping from 50-100 mL to 1-2 L. The obsession with cell counting is a bit overblown on the homebrew scale (and varies widely across strains anyways).

Are you using a stir plate?

 

[USMChueston0311]

Yes using a stir plate. It’s aboit 30ML in each tube. Then I have quarts of sterile wort canned.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Slant -> 100ml -> 2L is fine. The 2L will take a bit longer to show signs but it will eventually chew.

What I do is fill the slant with 1.030 wort (after emptying the mineral oil, if it was a frozen slant). Shake the hell out of it and let it sit overnight or a day or so at room temp. Then that goes into the 100ml or 500ml starter. Then up again from there as needed.

 

[USMChueston0311]

Plates have cooled, theyre full of condensation. I read that this shouldnt be an issue, but does it go away etc? Is there anyway to keep it from happening, i dont think that there is. Also I put them into the pressure cooker with the lid on the plates, was that a no no?

 

[SoCal-Doug]

After you take plates out of the pressure cooker and they cool, always keep them lid side down so the condensation doesnt form on the agar. Wet agar doesnt streak as well as dry and the single colonies will be fewer and wont be as obvious.

Same with slant tubes. After hardening the agar on a slant, store them lid down. When you inoculate the slants, you can shake the water out of the lid before re-capping each one.

 

[USMChueston0311]

The agar on plates is pure liquid when straight out of pressure cooker if I flipped over it would dump to the lid side

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Sorry, I wasn't clear (thinking one thing typing another, its an age thing). AFTER they solidify, flip them over and store them lid down.

 

[isomerization]

I’ve never made plates at home, but in the lab, once removed from the autoclave and poured, plates sit out for a day or so until the condensation has dried (so lid on top) and are then flipped (lid on bottom) for cold storage.

Try to pour your agar around 50C as well to help minimize condensation.