Speyedr wrote:BugeaterBrewing wrote:Naw, I'm just lazy and too cheap to buy DME. Now I've gone even lazier. I picked up a large pressure cooker at a yard sale. Now I can wort for starters. Now I only need to make up a new batch of starter every couple months. I love just opening a jar and pouring it into a flask!
Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company
Can you give step by step for that method?
Nothing complicated about it. I do a batch sparge for a 5 gallon batch of 1.040 beer using just base malt, no specialty grains (keep it cheap). I put it on the turkey cooker and do about a 30 minute boil so I get a good hot break. I then ladle the hot wort into quart jars, trying to disturb the sediment at the bottom of the brew kettle as little as possible. Leave about 1/2" head space in each jar.
As I fill the jars I place a lid on each one and LOOSELY put on a jar ring. This is important as you want air to be able to escape from the jar without blowing the lid completely off. Later in the process the lid will get sucked back tight, sealing the jar. I set the jars into the pressure cooker which already has about 3 quarts of near boiling water in it. When the cooker is full of jars, place the lid on the cooker and turn up the heat. You want the pressure to reach 15 lb. Once it hits 15 pounds, keep it there for about 20 minutes. At the end of that time, take it off the heat and let it cool down until the pressure relief valve drops down. This indicates that it is safe to take the lid off.
Once you take the lid off, remove the jars and screw the rings down tight. As the jars cool a vacuum will form inside and pop the domed caps down flat. That popping sound is what you want to hear. It is a real good idea to drape a towel over the jars once you get the rings tight. If they cool too fast or unevenly, they will break. Basically, keep them out of a draft. Don't try to turn the fan on them to speed up the process. Anyway, repeat this process until you run out of wort.
The pressure cooking process used is pretty standard for canning just about any kind of garden produce. The directions are available almost anywhere, even the little old lady that lives across the alley from you. Hell, she might even have a canner and jars you can borrow.
Hope this helps a little.
Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company
