Pressure Canning Wort and Yeast Starters SFHG Meeting Anchor Brewing Company April 16, 2013 Matt Murray mhm@mac.com @mhm
Disclaimer: I'm no expert, I've only pressure canned once so far, but I have done extensive internet research! So, if you have anything to add please feel free. Important: This is pressure canning, not just canning. Low acid foods (wort) must be held at 250 degrees for 15 minutes to kill botulism. This makes your wort "Shelf Stable". Why Pressure Can Wort? Prepare a batch of starter wort in advance to make yeast starters less time consuming. Pressure can priming solution for natural carbonation. Do traditional canning. I'm a gear hound, so more equipment and process is fun for me.
Why Make a Yeast Starter from Pitchable Yeast? mrmalty.com says for 1.048 wort at 5.25 gallons you need 180 billion cells. Technically, White Labs vials and Wyeast Activator packs are not pitchable quantities. They grow after pitching, that s the lag before you see airlock activity. GigaYeast IS a pitchable quantity! GigaYeast: 200 billion cell per package. White Labs: 70-120 billion per vial. Wyeast: 100 billion per Activator package.
Other Reasons to Make a Yeast Starter The OG of your wort over 1.060 Yeast is past the best by date. Pitching lager yeast below 65F Yeast is ready for work. Shorter lag time. Doesn't hurt, as long as you practice proper sanitation. It's fun! More brewing! More gear! Pressure Canner!! Stir Plate!!! Flasks!!!!
Problems with Traditional Yeast Starters Prep time: Boiling DME, cooling wort, pitching yeast and cleanup takes about an hour. The clean up after a boil over can extend this time and anger anyone you share the stove with. Planning ahead. I often forget to plan ahead, remember on Thursday night and can t find the time, so I don't make a starter.
Advantages of Pressure Canned Wort for Yeast Starters Process takes about 90 minutes and large part is unattended (letting canner cool, 45 minutes) to make 7 one quart starters, saves 5 and a half hours! You could do it during a brew day. Multitasking. 15 minutes (or less) to make a starter. Using proper sanitation, put 2 jars of wort already at room temperature in a 2L flask, pitch the yeast, cover, place on the stir plate and come back in 8-24 hours (White Labs says 12-24 hours is plenty, mrmalty.com says 8-18 hours). You can also use the pressure canning process for other brewing stuff: Priming solution for natural carbonation. Making sterile water for rinsing yeast ( yeast farming ) Making sterile top off water to adjust OG.
Equipment and Process for Pressure Canning Wort Pressure Canner. I use a Presto 23Qt. currently $70 at Amazon. Makes 7 quarts or 4 half gallons. Quart or half gallon canning jars. Canning jar lids and rings. Canning funnel (Optional, but makes putting DME in jars less messy, you know how DME is...). Canning jar lifer (Optional) Towels. Scale (Optional) DME (Some people do an all-grain mash because it's cheaper ) Yeast Nutrient (Optional) Hop Pellets (Optional) No need for sanitizer, the canning process takes care of sanitation.
Pressure Canning Process Fill pressure canner with hot water to the mark and begin heating. I m not sure on exact water amount, my instructions say 3 quarts. Unsure if that's the total amount of water, or the mark to use once the jars are in place. You do not have to submerge the jars, just enough water to boil for steam for about 30 minutes. Do not boil dry! You can add about 2TBS of white vinegar to prevent water stains on the outside of the jars if that's important to you. Measure 3.2 oz by weight or 1/2 cup by volume, per quart, light DME, one hop pellet (optional) and pinch of yeast nutrient (optional) into jars, add hot water. I use hot unfiltered tap water. Not making beer, just food for the yeast. Or, fill jar with 1.040 wort from your mash, one hop pellet (optional) and pinch of yeast nutrient (optional). Be sure to leave about 1 inch of headspace, this helps prevent boilovers that can foul the seal.
Pressure Canning Process,Continued Clean jar rim with a clean towel, put lid and ring on and tighten down, shake to dissolve, then back off ring to finger tight. The lid is sealed by the canning process, the ring it just there to keep the lid on during the process. Place jars in canner on top of the canning plate or lid rings (keeps jars off the bottom, they could explode otherwise). Check that the lid vent pipe is clear, and the pressure plug and pressure lock move freely. Put the lid on the canner and lock. Leave regulator off. Bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes with the regulator off to vent.
Pressure Canning Process,Continued After 10 minutes, put regulator on and bring up to 15psi of pressure. Check cover lock and over pressure release plug again (Mine stuck the first time and didn t pressurize). Gauge will read 15psi and regulator will start hopping around. Once 15psi reached, start your timer for 15 minutes. Adjust heat to maintain 15psi. After 15 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool and self vent. (takes about 45 minutes). Do not speed cool by running water over the canner, this can cause the jars to boil over inside the canner, making a mess and interfering with sealing. It can also lead to cracked jars. Remove jars and allow to cool further, check that lids are concave.
More Thoughts Be careful! You are working with very hot, pressurized stuff. No need to make a starter for dry yeast. Don't worry about break material in the wort, as you can see, the break material created during the canning process settles to the bottom, so you can just decant off of that if you are gentle. Some say break material is good for yeast. I don t sweat it, in it goes. Keep in dark place at room temperature. No need to refrigerate.
Making a Yeast Starter From Your Canned Wort
Equipment 2000ml Erlenmeyer Flask Foam stopper or foil Funnel Stir Plate (Optional) Mine is from www.stirstarters.com Stir Bar (Optional, do yourself a favor and get a few spares) Spray bottle of StarSan Solution(.75ml StarSan @16oz water) Yeast at room temperature Scissors if using Wyeast Activator Package 2 quart jars of canned wort Towel and binder clip to wrap around flask
Process Spray StarSan to sanitize flask, stopper, funnel, stir bar, outside of yeast package, scissors, outside of mason jar, and anything else that touches yeast or wort. Slide sanitized stir bar into flask. Dropping it in can crack the flask or break the stir bar. If using Wyeast, smack the pack, but no need to wait for it to swell. Cut open sanitized pack with sanitized scissors. Open sanitized White Labs vial to release pressure, reseal and shake to loosen yeast. Pour yeast into flask using sanitized funnel. Open canned wort jars (did you sanitized the outside of the jars?) and pour most into the flask using sanitized funnel, use some to rinse vial or smack pack. Some say break material is good for yeast, or you can carefully decant. Put sanitized foam stopper or sanitized foil on flask. Don't use an airlock, you want some air exchange. Bad beer bugs don't crawl!
Process, Continued Put the flask on the stir plate and engage the stir bar. Start the stir, just enough to get a little whirlpool, no need for a tornado. You could throw the stir bar if it spins too fast. Don't worry about light, but I sometimes wrap the flask with a towel to keep it warm. Some stir plates give off a little heat from the motor. Maintain temperature at mid 70's, ideally within 5 degrees of your initial fermentation temp. Leave for 12-24 hours (White Labs) 8-18 hours (mrmalty.com). No need for longer, you want your yeast in the growth phase when you pitch.
Process, Continued If no stir plate, shake it every chance you get. If you time it right, just pull starter off the stir plate and pitch into your fermenter. Sanitize! Don t forget to remove the stir bar! You can use a magnet to pull it out. Some do not like to pitch the starter beer into the wort, so you can stop the stir plate a few hours before pitching and let the yeast settle to the bottom, then decant the beer off. Add a little cooled wort and swirl to rouse the yeast before pitching. Sanitize! You can store finished starter in the refrigerator, also helps yeast to drop out of suspension so it s easier to decant. Bring back to room temp before pitching. Sanitize! Don t forget the stir bar! Oxygenate your fermenter, either by shaking or O2 stone!
Sources Pressure Canner: http://www.amazon.com/dp/b0000bycfu/ Yeast Calculators and Starter Information: http://www.mrmalty.com/ GigaYeast Information http://www.gigayeast.com/ White Labs Yeast Information: http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/homebrew Wyeast Information: http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_products.cfm Pressure Canning Wort from the Maltose Falcons: http://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/starter-made-easy-pressure-cooking-your-starterwort-ahead-time Another Pressure Canning Wort site: http://www.aleiens.com/profiles/blogs/canning-wort-for-yeast