poor mans propagator

[OldHooky]

Thought this might interest you guys for doing yeast starters. Used an old Prego jar, drilled a 1/2" hole in the lid and put in a grommet(5/8 OD, 3/8ID). You can do the same thing with a Mason jar.

[brewmonkey]

Pretty cool little setup. We use amber colored growlers with a stopper and airlock.

[OldHooky]

That's what I've used in the past. 22oz brown bottle with #2 stopper. Do you think there are any potential problems with the clear glass?

[brewmonkey]

Not if you keep it out of direct light (both indoor and UV). Think carboy, they are clear and still make good beer.

[toneyc]

Would sunlight cause problems with starters with no hops? I thought that it was a chemical change in hops that was the reason we keep the carboys in the dark.

:)
Toney.

[beerturtle]

I'll second ToneyC's submission. My understanding is that certian wavelengths of light cause a photo-reaction with various hop isomers and this can lead to skunking and such. Anyone else?:confused:

[thewiz]

I asked my LHBS about this since I'm making an unhopped Smirnoff Ice type clone and they told me that the major problems are with hops, but that light can still have a smaller effect on unhopped brews.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by toneyc
Would sunlight cause problems with starters with no hops? I thought that it was a chemical change in hops that was the reason we keep the carboys in the dark.

:)
Toney.

Somewhere I've read(could be on here so it would circular) that UV increases the chances of mutations in yeast.

[OldHooky]

I switched the pasta jars out and now use mason jar. I found that the grommet would leak around the thin metal top.

With the mason jar, replace the thin metal lid with thick plastic sheet. I used the blue plastic wiring covers that are readily available from hardware stores.

[axis714]

with what brewmonkey just said it makes me wonder ........If clear glass bottles are bad and we use brown for a reason(UV light) then why not patent a brown glass carboy? seems only obvious to me. Does someone already make them?