[trapae]

I recently saw this on morebeer’s website and it is on a lot of other websites. It is a can of sterile wort that when you mix it with 16 ounces of water, you get 1 L of 1.040 starter.   Then just add yeast.  My starters are usually larger so I guess I would double up and then pour out until I get what I’ve calculated I need.  Anyway, the instructions say that you don’t need to boil it/cool it , As long as you sterilize your flask and stir bar, and use bottled water.    It would definitely save time, but The OCD in me says I would still want to boil it because I don’t trust that everything ( bottled water etc. ) would be sterile. 
Has anyone used this and have a review or any input?

[JFMBearcat]

My LHBS has them for $15 a 4 pack. That's $15 for four 1 liter starters.

A 3lb bag of DME costs about the same, usually less and you get 12.5 one liter starters out of it.

I can't possibly fathom a situation where someone has the time to wait the sanitize a vessel, still wait the 12-36 hours for the starter to build, but doesn't have the time to create the wort themselves - all the while paying over 3x as much per liter.

[BrewBama]

The convenience for this product [which is tough to calculate] has to be worth more than the asking price for it because straight math (as mentioned above) makes this an expensive way to brew.


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[Robert]

Northern Brewer was selling a product like this years ago, and I never understood it,  for the reasons mentioned.   Very costly,  and I would never use a starter medium that has not been fully boiled.  If you have to boil and cool the dilution water (no you can't trust bottled water, and you'll pour it over a non sterile bottle lip any way,)  then open it up and pour in a can of concentrate (again over a non sterile lip,) well then you'd better boil the whole mess again and cool it.... Nope.  DME, water, one drop of Fermcap, boil with a piece of foil covering the flask, and cool.  Cheap, easy, quick and sterile.

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[MNWayne]

DME and water, boiled in a flask, foam stopper.

[trapae]

I agree with Rob. Definitely would not just pour, mix, pitch and call it a day. Too many places for a potential contamination.

[RC]

The Northern Brewer product is called Fast Pitch. It went out of production for a couple years but recently came back. It's $12 per 4-pack. I'm a big fan of these canned worts. I have some Propper on the way.

Yes, you can trust bottled water. For all intents and purposes, the water inside a bottle, and the lip you pour it over, are sterile. Open it carefully and don't touch the lip. Bottled water is very tightly regulated by the FDA and is extremely unlikely to have any living cells in it. So you don't have to boil dilution water. Just keep a stock of 16-oz water bottles on hand.

It takes me 5-10 min to make a starter with the canned wort vs. ~30-45 min--granted, most of this time is waiting for the wort to boil and then cool in a ice batch. But I can get on with my day 30 min earlier. And I don't have to mess with DME. Oh man, I hate DME. Dust gets everywhere and creates a sticky mess. Not messing with DME is worth $3 alone.

Some folks here make it sound very challenging to make a clean starter using canned wort. This is just not true. Yes, you need to maintain good sani procedures, but this is no different from the traditional way of making starters. I have made literally hundreds of starters using fast pitch and bottled water. Never had an infection.

Ultimately it boils down to whether you think $3--which I do not consider to be very costly--is worth saving 30 min of time. You should not worry about whether bottled water is clean. It is.

[Kevin]

~30-45 minutes to make a starter using DME?  ...Dust everywhere??  I'm pretty sure you and I are not making DME starters using the same methods.

[denny]

~30-45 minutes to make a starter using DME?  ...Dust everywhere??  I'm pretty sure you and I are not making DME starters using the same methods.

Same here.

[RC]

~30-45 minutes to make a starter using DME?  ...Dust everywhere??  I'm pretty sure you and I are not making DME starters using the same methods.

Same here.

Bringing 1-2L liquid to a boil in a flask: 7-10 min on gas range in kitchen. Cooling ~2L boiling liquid to <70 in ice bath: 20-25 min. If you know a workaround to the laws of thermodynamics, please share ;-)

Edit: Actually don't share, because I don't care. The OP was, has anyone used this and have a review or any input? And I provided some input. Let's leave it at that.

[jeffy]

~30-45 minutes to make a starter using DME?  ...Dust everywhere??  I'm pretty sure you and I are not making DME starters using the same methods.

Same here.

Bringing 1-2L liquid to a boil in a flask: 7-10 min on gas range in kitchen. Cooling ~2L boiling liquid to <70 in ice bath: 20-25 min. If you know a workaround to the laws of thermodynamics, please share ;-)

Edit: Actually don't share, because I don't care. The OP was, has anyone used this and have a review or any input? And I provided some input. Let's leave it at that.

I will agree with RC here on the time involved and powdery DME issues.  I've been using dry yeast lately instead of liquid to avoid making starters.

[BrewBama]

Sounds like the value of convenience is worth it for you RC. That’s all that matters in your brewery.  Cheers!


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[Joe T]

The Northern Brewer product is called Fast Pitch. It went out of production for a couple years but recently came back. It's $12 per 4-pack. I'm a big fan of these canned worts. I have some Propper on the way.

Yes, you can trust bottled water. For all intents and purposes, the water inside a bottle, and the lip you pour it over, are sterile. Open it carefully and don't touch the lip. Bottled water is very tightly regulated by the FDA and is extremely unlikely to have any living cells in it. So you don't have to boil dilution water. Just keep a stock of 16-oz water bottles on hand.

It takes me 5-10 min to make a starter with the canned wort vs. ~30-45 min--granted, most of this time is waiting for the wort to boil and then cool in a ice batch. But I can get on with my day 30 min earlier. And I don't have to mess with DME. Oh man, I hate DME. Dust gets everywhere and creates a sticky mess. Not messing with DME is worth $3 alone.

Some folks here make it sound very challenging to make a clean starter using canned wort. This is just not true. Yes, you need to maintain good sani procedures, but this is no different from the traditional way of making starters. I have made literally hundreds of starters using fast pitch and bottled water. Never had an infection.

Ultimately it boils down to whether you think $3--which I do not consider to be very costly--is worth saving 30 min of time. You should not worry about whether bottled water is clean. It is.

Bottled water is definitely not sterile. Spring water may be straight out of the ground and completely untreated. Purified water like Dasani is basically just RO water. It may be pasteurized or UV treated but it's not sterile. Even unopened jugs of distilled water have been known to grow algae if left in the sun.
That said, I would consider bottled water safe for a starter, depending on your goals. If you use a fresh pitch and a starter for every batch, no worries. If you plan on repitching for several generations, it may be worth the extra effort to boil. Just my 2¢.

[HopDen]

Making a starter as I type, actually waiting for it to come to a boil. I really dislike making starters! I'm going to make a 5 gallon batch of wort @ 1.040, put it in 1/2 gallon mason jars and water bath for 15 mins. Straight into the keezer and ready when I need it! Warm it to pitching temp and add yeast.

[denny]

Making a starter as I type, actually waiting for it to come to a boil. I really dislike making starters! I'm going to make a 5 gallon batch of wort @ 1.040, put it in 1/2 gallon mason jars and water bath for 15 mins. Straight into the keezer and ready when I need it! Warm it to pitching temp and add yeast.

To be safe from botulism you really need to pressure can that wort.