Making Starter Wort
Making starter wort is very simple. If you can boil water, you're
basically there. The following assumes a single batch made from
4 oz of DME (dried malt extract). You will need to use the
absolute lightest DME available (e.g., Briess Pils DME or Munton's
Extra-Light DME which is a bit darker than the Briess). You can
prepare this wort for immediate use or future use. We'll cover the
differences after the basics.
- First, sanitize everything you intend to use with the wort,
including all Erlenmeyer flasks and stoppers, jars and lids,
a small funnel, and one of those neat little re-usable coffee
filters you find in grocery stores, usually in the coffee isle
with the paper filters.
- Next, combine 1L of filtered water with 4 oz of your
ultra-light DME, a hop pellet or two, and 1/2 tsp of
Wyeast Yeast Nutrient—this provides the nitrogen and
other nutrients critical for optimal yeast growth in your
starters. Combine all of this in a large boiler or kettle
over medium-high heat (the exact setting will depend on your
stove). Stir gently and avoid splashing. You do NOT
want to aerate the wort at this stage.
- Boil for .... If you plan on using this immediately, boil
for a full 15 minute boil. If you plan on using it for
sterile wort, boil until you get a good hot break (i.e., it
stops trying to boil over and the foam settles to reveal the
boiling wort).
- Using your sanitized filter/funnel combination, run the wort
through the filter and funnel into a sanitized
1000mL Erlenmeyer flask to clean out any trub formed
during the above boil. Pour VERY gently. Hot Side
Aeration (HSA) is BAD...VERY BAD.
To Use Immediately
For using the starter wort immediately, start by sanitizing the
Erlenmeyer flask(s) you intend to use. After a soak in sanitizer,
spray the mouth of the flask with food-grade alcohol (e.g., Everclear)
sanitizer and light with a torch lighter. Be extra careful when you
do this, as it WILL flame up. Do NOT do this with any
other flammables nearby, including any clothing that might ignite.
Seriously, you MUST BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL! I
cannot stress this enough! Then pour the near-boiling wort into the
flask(s), cap with aluminum foil (spray the foil with the same food-grade
alcohol first), and put the flask into an ice-water bath (make sure the
water level is not high enough to tip the flask over). Cool until the
wort can be gently swirled without heating the sides of the flask.
Then, see the next section,
Making Yeast
Starters.
To Sterilize and Use Later
- Pour (gently...) into either pint-sized canning jars (make sure they
will fit into your pressure cooker and that it will close properly
with them in place, lids and all) that you intend to use to store
your yeast.
- Cap LOOSELY with either #6 non-drilled stoppers for the
flasks or lids/caps for canning jars.
- Add water to your pressure cooker to bring it up to about a half-inch
or an inch above the false bottom (the most important thing being to
add enough that it doesn't boil dry...if it does, you're screwed).
- Place into your "autoclave" (or pressure cooker) and set the heat
on medium-high (again, may vary per your stove). When the cooker
really gets into a roll, hissing loudly (as opposed to when it's
just cranking up), start a 15 minute timer. At the end of
the time period, turn the heat off and remove the cooker from the
burner.
- When the cooker has cooled (raising the weight will not cause it to
hiss, and the lid's interlock pin will drop), open it and, using
tongs and pot-holders, VERY, VERY CAREFULLY
remove and set on a hard surface with a towel, pot-holder, etc. on
it. This would be a good time to have your rubber brewing boots on,
too (I just thought of this as I was writing this—I've had
2nd degree burns on one ankle/foot from boiling wort. It sucks).
- Gently and carefully, tighten the caps and lightly secure the
stoppers. Be careful not to stuff the stopper down too far, or as
the wort cools, it may suck the stopper right into the flask.
- After the wort has cooled enough to avoid heating up your fridge,
cover the solid rubber stoppers for any Erlenmeyer flasks you may
have used with aluminum foil (as a backup for the stoppers),
label each container with the date and transfer into the fridge
for later use.
NOTE: If you need to make 10mL starter tubes, modify the above as
follows:
- From your 900mL of starter wort, first transfer 10mL into each of
your starter tubes with a syringe. Cap each, leaving the caps open
by about 1/4 turn.
- Place the 10mL starter tubes into a beaker (or beakers, depending
on how many you're making).
- Use remaining starter wort to make the prepared wort starters in
250mL flasks as above (except you won't have as many, and how many
you do have may be limited by what fits into the pressure cooker).
- After the autoclave run, tighten the caps and cover with aluminum
foil. Then place into a clean ZipLoc bag and label the bag with
the date. Store in the fridge.