Mason Jars For Homebrew Ingredient Storage, Yeast Starters and More

You can use Mason jars to store hops, grain, yeast slurry and more. Fermentation lids are also available to convert these to be easily used for yeast starters. And, of course, you can serve your beer and other drinks in a one of these. Mason jars generally economical, reusable, oxygen impermeable and you can easily see the contents.

Jar Sizes

A variety of manufacturers make Mason Jars. Ball, Knorr and more. There are two standard sizes regular and wide mouth. This is important when it comes to attachments and lids as these must be size compatible.

Sealing Hops in Mason Jars

Pictured: FoodSaver Regular Sealer and Accessory Hose Wide-Mouth Jar Kit

FoodSaver makes a jar sealing attachment that connects to compatible vacuum sealers to allow you to vacuum seal Mason Jars.  This means $0 in vacuum bag costs and the jars are resealable with no vacuum bag waste.

Sealing a wide mouth 64 ounce Ball Jar full of hops.


Our Inkbird Vacuum Sealer Deal Page

Inkbird Vacuum Sealer + Starter Kit – $44.24 w/25% Off Coupon + Hands on Review


Sealed jar… $0 in vacuum bag cost and resealable.A quart jar holds around 14 ounces of hops

Note that a compatible vacuum sealer and jar sealing attachment are requirements. Many FoodSaver brand vacuum sealers have accessory ports.  The Inkbird VS-01 pictured here also has an accessory port.

Also: Search Amazon for “FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer Machine”

Mason Jar Specific Vacuum Sealers

LOVE MOMENT Electric Mason Jar Vacuum Sealer Kit for Wide Mouth and Regular Mouth Mason Jars

Mason jar specific vacuum sealers are available now. These work solely with mason jar type jars and will not seal regular bags and rolls.

Storage Caps

WIDE Mouth Mason Jar Lids [8 Pack] for Ball, Kerr and More - Food Grade Colored Plastic Storage Caps for Mason/Canning Jars - Leak-Proof & Anti-Scratch Resistant SurfacePictured: WIDE Mouth Mason Jar Lids [8 Pack] for Ball, Kerr and More – Food Grade Colored Plastic Storage Caps for Mason/Canning Jars – Leak-Proof & Anti-Scratch Resistant Surface – affiliate link, note that multiple variations of this product may be available, as such a different version may appear at this link

If you want or need to skip the FoodSaver part, Storage caps are available. These also come in two sizes depending on jar size.

Lots more options are available.  Search Amazon for “Mason Jar Storage Lids” on Amazon

Grain Storage Capacity for Larger Mason Jars

Using my rule of thumb 1.25 lbs per liter, the half gallon size jars should hold around 2.36 lbs of grain and the quart jars should hold around 1.17 lbs of grain. These are rough estimates.

Using Mason Jars for Yeast Starters

Lids are available to easily convert these jars to use for yeast starters. As will all other options you need the right size lid (either regular or wide mouth).

A tip… fermentation weights are also available, those are generally intended for fermenting food. The sit on top of the food and are not airtight. Along those lines they should be avoided if you’re wanting to do yeast starters.


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Make sure the components you use are compatible and rated for your intended application.  Contact manufacturer with questions about suitability or a specific application.  Always read and follow manufacturer directions.

Price, promotions and availability can change quickly. Check the product page for current price, description and availability. tag:lnksfxd top:masonjars tag:tpr

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