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I make yeast starters for every batch of beer I brew. My usual practice for this has been to add DME to a flask, top with water and fermcap, and boil right in the flask for 10 minutes before cooling via ice bath. This worked fine for me up until the inevitable happened - while bringing the starter to a boil a crack developed along the bottom "edge" of the 5L erlenmeyer flask I was using. Luckily, a buddy was over (99% of the time I do these on my own and don't pay enough attention) and he noticed the wort leaking through the crack before it shattered. We shut down the burner, let it cool and dumped the wort into a kettle to finish boiling.
I've since purchased a new flask, but I'm weary of directly heating in it because it's only a matter of time before something like that happens again. The first starter I made with the new flask I tried the double-boiler method suggested by More Beer placing the flask in a kettle with water and bringing that to a boil. Unfortunately, the wort in the flask never came to a boil despite the surrounding water boiling for over 30 minutes, so that method got scrapped. Eventually I decided to just boil the starter wort in a kettle and transfer to the flask. This is less than ideal because it takes longer, leaves more to clean, and increases the risk of infection. But it's safe.
I've since purchased a new flask, but I'm weary of directly heating in it because it's only a matter of time before something like that happens again. The first starter I made with the new flask I tried the double-boiler method suggested by More Beer placing the flask in a kettle with water and bringing that to a boil. Unfortunately, the wort in the flask never came to a boil despite the surrounding water boiling for over 30 minutes, so that method got scrapped. Eventually I decided to just boil the starter wort in a kettle and transfer to the flask. This is less than ideal because it takes longer, leaves more to clean, and increases the risk of infection. But it's safe.
Lucky for me, my in-laws gave me a pressure cooker for Christmas! Now I can spend an evening preparing enough jars of starter liquid for several months worth of brewing, and then a few days before each brew day I just have to sanitize the flask, pour a jar of starter liquid in, top off with distilled water, and pitch. It's that easy! No boiling, no chilling - just pour and pitch.
For my first go I wanted to put together a variety of sizes and densities for flexibility. Ideally I'll be able to mix and match jars to get the volume of 1.040 starter wort I need (based on this calculator). I also made a few smaller 4oz jars which gives me the advantage of always being prepared to propagate bottle dregs - next time I go to a bottle share I can just grab one or two of those little guys. I left enough room for the addition of the dregs straight to the jar.
For my first go I wanted to put together a variety of sizes and densities for flexibility. Ideally I'll be able to mix and match jars to get the volume of 1.040 starter wort I need (based on this calculator). I also made a few smaller 4oz jars which gives me the advantage of always being prepared to propagate bottle dregs - next time I go to a bottle share I can just grab one or two of those little guys. I left enough room for the addition of the dregs straight to the jar.
I've got to say - using this cooker for the first time was pretty scary. It's essentially a bomb sitting on my kitchen burner, and it comes with poor instructions and no pressure gauge. After using it successfully without killing myself I'm a little more confident, but in the future I'll still stay clear of the kitchen when the burner is on until its time to make adjustments.
Steps:
I made two different sizes: 1.5 pint, and 1/4 pint. For the 1.5 pint jars I added 170 grams of DME and 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient - these should make 1.5 liters of 1.040 wort. For the 4oz jars I added a small pinch of nutrient and 7grams DME to half, 14 grams to the other. I mistakenly calculated that these amounts put the jars themselves at 1.020sg and 1.040 respectively which would mean no need to dillute before pitching bottle dregs. The plan was to use the 1.020 jars as a first step and then add the 1.040, possibly slightly dilluted, as a second step. However I must have had a mental slip at some point because, on second look, what I really ended up with is jars of 1.010 and 1.020. Oh well, they are still more than serviceable...
I had planned to do a second batch with 1 pint jars (115 grams of DME and a big pinch of nutrient - to produce 1 liter of 1.040 wort) but after seeing how dark the first batch turned out, I decided to hold off on the second round. The photo below is an attempt to show the color of the three different densities - the concentrated wort is essentially black and the diluted 1.010 wort is closer to the amber I was expecting. I feel like the color has got to be a product of the extreme heat and time - I gave it a fair dose of overkill on the time component. But just in case something went wrong, I didn't want to waste more DME. If I brew a couple batches with the 1.5 pint jars without any issues, I'll go ahead and run the second batch. If I run into problems then the next batch will be standard 1.040 strength rather than concentrated.
Steps:
- Add DME and yeast nutrient (Diamonium Phosphate) to a clean jar
- Top with room temp water and stir (may try pre-heated water to see if that helps the color issue mentioned below)
- Ensure the lip of the jar and lid are clean, then screw on the lid and shake vigorously
- Place the jar into the pressure cooker on the stand (not directly on the bottom)
- Add 2.5 quarts of water to the cooker and close the lid
- Set the burner to high and allow the water to come to a boil. Once the cooker starts to vent steam set a 10 minute timer
- After 10 minutes, add the 15psi weight. Keep the burner on high until the pressure rises and steam blows through the weight, then reduce to low
- Leave on low for 20 minutes - steam should continue to release periodically - then turn off the burner. Allow the cooker to naturally cool for an hour or more before verifying the pressure has been drawn back down and it is safe to open
I made two different sizes: 1.5 pint, and 1/4 pint. For the 1.5 pint jars I added 170 grams of DME and 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient - these should make 1.5 liters of 1.040 wort. For the 4oz jars I added a small pinch of nutrient and 7grams DME to half, 14 grams to the other. I mistakenly calculated that these amounts put the jars themselves at 1.020sg and 1.040 respectively which would mean no need to dillute before pitching bottle dregs. The plan was to use the 1.020 jars as a first step and then add the 1.040, possibly slightly dilluted, as a second step. However I must have had a mental slip at some point because, on second look, what I really ended up with is jars of 1.010 and 1.020. Oh well, they are still more than serviceable...
I had planned to do a second batch with 1 pint jars (115 grams of DME and a big pinch of nutrient - to produce 1 liter of 1.040 wort) but after seeing how dark the first batch turned out, I decided to hold off on the second round. The photo below is an attempt to show the color of the three different densities - the concentrated wort is essentially black and the diluted 1.010 wort is closer to the amber I was expecting. I feel like the color has got to be a product of the extreme heat and time - I gave it a fair dose of overkill on the time component. But just in case something went wrong, I didn't want to waste more DME. If I brew a couple batches with the 1.5 pint jars without any issues, I'll go ahead and run the second batch. If I run into problems then the next batch will be standard 1.040 strength rather than concentrated.