[Wort-H.O.G.]

yep understood. sometimes we know and do otherwise-guilty

Dude, I'm right there with ya!  Half the stuff I've learned has been through screwing up!

true that. all is good- starter up and running in my 2l flask, and had a homebrew to morn the loss of my jug

[69franx]

Is that just a glass jug?

Yeah I've been using a 1 gal jug for some time now.


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As you've just verified, you shouldn't put hot wort into one of those!  I boil and cool in a pot, then pour the wort into the jug.

Exactly what I do Denny. Pour cooled wort into flask or jug depending on size

[klickitat jim]

Canning wort is a long term goal for me. Want to wait and get on the large all american canners.

Mine fits 7 quart jars or 4 half gallons. For starter wort I use half gallons. I forget what I paid for it but its a presto and was around $100 I think. Its been a good investment. Terri loves it at harvest time. This year she did about 20 quarts each of beans and tomatoes. Ive done canned stew meat in it when the cheap roasts are on sale. Makes great stew starter cuz you can use fresh roots that dont get mushy but the meat is nice and tender.

I think im down to my last half gallon of starter so its time to do another batch soon. Takes about ten minutes of labor, and about 90 minutes for canner to do its thing from heating to rattle temp, 15 minutes there, then cool off to where you can open it. I highly recommend it

[S. cerevisiae]

i've got 2l flasks. i've used my jug at least 3 dozen times or more-1st issue.  now i suppose i will chill in flask and transfer to jug if i need the volume.

The problem with soda-lime glass is that it does not handle thermal shock very well.  What you need to do is to start off with warm water and slowly add ice.  Borosilicate glass (a.k.a. Pyrex, KIMAX, sometimes erroneously referred to as flint glass, ...) handles thermal shock much better than soda-lime glass, but it too will fracture in time.  While Erlenmeyer flasks are used for boiling, the shape of an Erlenmeyer flask makes it less resistant to expansion and contraction stress fractures.  That's why they make a piece of lab glassware for boiling known as a Florence flask (a.k.a. a boiling flask). 

[narvin]

Another practical tip for those who boil in Erlenmeyer flasks: clumps of DME stuck to the bottom will get MUCH hotter than the rest of the flask, which is in contact with the liquid, and can cause cracking to happen sooner rather than later. Stir well before heating!

I've also moved to canning starter wort from an AG batch.  The prep may not be easier, but once it's done you don't have to boil anything on starter day.

[rjharper]

So you can quarts of late runnings or brew day excess at the usual 1.030 to 1.040, then it sits shelf stable until you need it, and just dump it and the yeast right into the starter vessel with no other prep (other than the usual sanitation of the flask)?

hmmm

[narvin]

So you can quarts of late runnings or brew day excess at the usual 1.030 to 1.040, then it sits shelf stable until you need it, and just dump it and the yeast right into the starter vessel with no other prep (other than the usual sanitation of the flask)?

hmmm

Yep. I've also done a small mash with 4 pounds of grain or so in my old 5 gallon mash tun.  Easy to do indoors on the stovetop on a winter day.

[morticaixavier]

So you can quarts of late runnings or brew day excess at the usual 1.030 to 1.040, then it sits shelf stable until you need it, and just dump it and the yeast right into the starter vessel with no other prep (other than the usual sanitation of the flask)?

hmmm

if you can just over 1 quart of starter in a .5 gallon canning jar you don't even have to transfer, shake the beejeesus out of it to aerate, pop the top and pitch the yeast. leave the dome lid on top and the band just one turn down so nothing slips off. it's as close as one can easily get to sterile starter media at home. stir plates won't work all that well with the canning jar I suppose but I've had good luck (without cell counts or viability checks mind, so grain of salt) with this method in the past.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

So you can quarts of late runnings or brew day excess at the usual 1.030 to 1.040, then it sits shelf stable until you need it, and just dump it and the yeast right into the starter vessel with no other prep (other than the usual sanitation of the flask)?

hmmm

if you can just over 1 quart of starter in a .5 gallon canning jar you don't even have to transfer, shake the beejeesus out of it to aerate, pop the top and pitch the yeast. leave the dome lid on top and the band just one turn down so nothing slips off. it's as close as one can easily get to sterile starter media at home. stir plates won't work all that well with the canning jar I suppose but I've had good luck (without cell counts or viability checks mind, so grain of salt) with this method in the past.

this is intriguing - whats the expected shelf life of the wort? i'd can it and then just dump it into my flask or jug with yeast so i could pop it on the stir plate.

[morticaixavier]

So you can quarts of late runnings or brew day excess at the usual 1.030 to 1.040, then it sits shelf stable until you need it, and just dump it and the yeast right into the starter vessel with no other prep (other than the usual sanitation of the flask)?

hmmm

if you can just over 1 quart of starter in a .5 gallon canning jar you don't even have to transfer, shake the beejeesus out of it to aerate, pop the top and pitch the yeast. leave the dome lid on top and the band just one turn down so nothing slips off. it's as close as one can easily get to sterile starter media at home. stir plates won't work all that well with the canning jar I suppose but I've had good luck (without cell counts or viability checks mind, so grain of salt) with this method in the past.

this is intriguing - whats the expected shelf life of the wort? i'd can it and then just dump it into my flask or jug with yeast so i could pop it on the stir plate.

I've never tested it over a couple months but that was fine. It gets pretty ugly because you get hot break in the jar and it looks a bit like a jelly fish sometimes.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

So you can quarts of late runnings or brew day excess at the usual 1.030 to 1.040, then it sits shelf stable until you need it, and just dump it and the yeast right into the starter vessel with no other prep (other than the usual sanitation of the flask)?

hmmm

if you can just over 1 quart of starter in a .5 gallon canning jar you don't even have to transfer, shake the beejeesus out of it to aerate, pop the top and pitch the yeast. leave the dome lid on top and the band just one turn down so nothing slips off. it's as close as one can easily get to sterile starter media at home. stir plates won't work all that well with the canning jar I suppose but I've had good luck (without cell counts or viability checks mind, so grain of salt) with this method in the past.

this is intriguing - whats the expected shelf life of the wort? i'd can it and then just dump it into my flask or jug with yeast so i could pop it on the stir plate.

I've never tested it over a couple months but that was fine. It gets pretty ugly because you get hot break in the jar and it looks a bit like a jelly fish sometimes.

i figured id just use dme and keep it simple.  amazon has the 23 qt presto for $80 delivered - seems like a winner.http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01781-23-Quart-Pressure-Canner/dp/B0000BYCFU/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1414420363&sr=1-2&keywords=canners

[Wort-H.O.G.]

so for 1qt jar, how full do you fill it - any head space or to the rim?

is it ok to short fill? my typical starter is about 1400-1600 for ales and don.t want to waste wort so would like to can at about 800ml per quart since i will have to use two quart jars per starter.

[Stevie]

Isn't leaving a ton of headspace a big no-no in canning?

[pete b]

Isn't leaving a ton of headspace a big no-no in canning?

I know it is in normal boiling water bath canning, but maybe not when using a pressure cooker?

[narvin]

I don't think there's a problem with leaving extra head space.  When pressure canning you want to vent steam for a while before putting on the pressure weight (7 minutes is what my manual says), so the head space should be evacuated of air.

You want to leave at least 3/4" - 1" of space at the minimum, to avoid losing liquid during canning.