Hello everyone, I have been brewing for about a year now and taking it slow. I started out with simple 1 gallon premade ingredients kits to get familiar with the process and I have recently upgrade to 5 gallon batches. I have read and learned about canned wort and I am still confused about when I added it to the process and what it is all about. Thanks for any feedback
Eric
Canned wort is intended to be used in yeast starters rather than the actual brew.
Thanks Denny,
I believe that’s where I am confused. I don’t quit understand yeast starters. Once you have a yeast starter prepared what’s next?
A yeast starter is simply a pitch of yeast into prepared wort. The yeast ferment out and you have increased the cell count. Then the increased cell count is pitched into a main batch of wort to ferment it. there are many ways to do it, but a simple and robust use is to simply pitch the yeast pack into a quart or so of wort in a gallon jug and shake it up vigorously. Then time your brew session so you can pitch the shaken starter wort at high krausen into the large (full size) batch of wort.
If you use dry yeast, you don’t have to worry about starters…just pitch the dry yeast. If you use liquid yeast, there generally aren’t enough cells for a batch of beer. You make a starter to increase the cell count before using the yeast.
I prepare my starter the morning of brew day and pitch it to my chilled beer wort that evening (or when I’m done brewing) basically about 8 hours later. I dont know how much growth I’m getting, but I look at it as shaving 8hrs off my “lag time” by having my yeast pitch at exponential growth phase when I pitch them.
What are the pros and cons of canned wort? I’ve never bought it to try because I just make my starters. But I guess the big pro would be cool temperature. And obv less work.
Or you can can your own, like Drew does.
I have done my own for a few years. No cons. Pros are: it’s always ready to go. Fun to make on a day you want to do some brewing stuff, but dont have time to do a whole brewing day.
I have been pressure canning wort for several years. I have a pot with a valve and SS strainer. I make a gallon of wort at a time and than pressure can it. Low acid foods require this method. I pressure can at 15 psi for 15 mins. This raises the boiling point high enough to kill Botulism spores and the jars can be stored in a cool dark place without refrigeration , basement, closet etc. On brew day I pull one out of storage and make a starter that morning then pitch later in the afternoon. There are canning sites on the web. One tip, don’t drain hot wort directly into the glass jars. Collect wort in a pitcher or container and let cool a little before filling. I had jars crack around the bottom after canning , they must heat up gradually in the canner.
I did that for my last batch and didn’t notice any reduction in lag time. I prepared the starter (1 pack White Labs yeast into 1 liter canned wort in a 1 gallon container, shaken vigorously) around 7 AM and pitched it around 3 PM. Next time I think I will start it the night before to give it more time to reach high krausen.
If I knock eight hours off my lag time, but my lag time is usually only five or six hours, will my beer be fermenting before I’ve brewed it? Is this a relativity thing – does this mean I’m brewing faster than light?
Careful! You don’t want to kill your Grandpa or something like that. ;D
Paul
Kind of like batch sparging in a blue cooler. You get 135% efficiency, and every 10 brews a bag of grain magically appears!
Yes