Dried Yeast Users

[Fourstar]

I would have to agree allot with what PoMo has said. As I also agree with MHB by advising his customers to pitch directly into the wort.

Less experienced brewers should always act on the simplest method. Much like making a packet mix cake before a making one from scratch if you have never cooked before.

For all the beers i have made over the past 2 years w/dry yeast I have rehydrated EVERY single one of my packets. No infection and no fermentation issues either. As far as I was aware, rehydration stabalises the cell walls of the yeast, thus making the colony much more viable than pitching directly into the wort and losing a bunch of them.

Even seen the south park movie? reminds me of "operation human shield". I follow the recommendations on the fermentis PDF's from their website whenever i use a dry yeast, note the second paragraph as well.

Pitching instructions:
Re-hydrate the dry yeast into yeast cream in a stirred vessel prior to pitching. Sprinkle the dry yeast in 10 times its own weight of sterile water or wort at 27C 3C. Once the expected weight of dry yeast is reconstituted into cream by this method (this takes about 15 to 30 minutes), maintain a gentle stirring for another 30 minutes. Then pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel.

Alternatively, pitch dry yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20C. Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes and then mix the wort e.g. using aeration.

If you are sanitary, sterile and you check you're tepms its almost impossible for something to go wrong. I havn't had any issues to date. Saying that, i would'nt advise a 1st brew K&K'er to rehydrate unless i was supervising. If the brewer understands the science enough, by all means they should do what they can to make the best beer possible. For all other means, pitch direct.

My 2c.

 

[PostModern]

Just trying to clarify what we mean by yeast "working".

I think it means turning wort into beer.

 

[matti]

I would have to agree allot with what PoMo has said. As I also agree with MHB by advising his customers to pitch directly into the wort.

Less experienced brewers should always act on the simplest method. Much like making a packet mix cake before a making one from scratch if you have never cooked before.

For all the beers i have made over the past 2 years w/dry yeast I have rehydrated EVERY single one of my packets. No infection and no fermentation issues either. As far as I was aware, rehydration stabalises the cell walls of the yeast, thus making the colony much more viable than pitching directly into the wort and losing a bunch of them.

Even seen the south park movie? reminds me of "operation human shield". I follow the recommendations on the fermentis PDF's from their website whenever i use a dry yeast, note the second paragraph as well.

Pitching instructions:
Re-hydrate the dry yeast into yeast cream in a stirred vessel prior to pitching. Sprinkle the dry yeast in 10 times its own weight of sterile water or wort at 27C 3C. Once the expected weight of dry yeast is reconstituted into cream by this method (this takes about 15 to 30 minutes), maintain a gentle stirring for another 30 minutes. Then pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel.

Alternatively, pitch dry yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20C. Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps. Leave for 30 minutes and then mix the wort e.g. using aeration.

If you are sanitary, sterile and you check you're tepms its almost impossible for something to go wrong. I havn't had any issues to date. Saying that, i would'nt advise a 1st brew K&K'er to rehydrate unless i was supervising. If the brewer understands the science enough, by all means they should do what they can to make the best beer possible. For all other means, pitch direct.

My 2c.

I believe that if you read the PDF file from the suppliers websites and use adequate sterile methods you always get best result from re hydrating the yeast.

Fourstar you are spot on.

I always advocate to read up about things before you post them.

MHB
I can see your point in trying not to confuse the "new" users but there is nothing wrong with trying to educate brewers of all levels so they can choose by themselves which methods are most suitable/applicable for them.

I suppose this discussion will go on an on and turn up again and again.... :lol:

 

[skippy]

read this link.

http://beerscience.blogspot.com/2008/08/dr...quid-yeast.html

skippy

 

[skippy]

Dr K should be more informed, before comment.

MHB should stick to the science of peddling home brew supplies and not lecturing microbiology!

please read this.

 

[dr K]

From the first Skippy Link:

However, although some dry yeast manufacturers recommend it, directly pitching into wort is not the only way to treat your dried culture.

A real eye-opener for me.

and from the second (and I make no reference btw to the strains of yeast the researchers selected nearly a decade ago nor to any advances since)

The process of dehydrating and rehydrating yeast biomass
results in severe stress to cells, which means that although
dried yeasts are convenient for many applications in bread
and wine production, they are relatively less active than
traditional compressed or suspended (cream) yeasts (Evans
1990; Reed and Nagodawithana 1991).

Gee wizz and I always thought that dried yeast worked the same way as the dried apricots I buy, 2 minutes in water and they become fresh, plump and juicy fruits, identical apart from the stoen to fresh one from the markets, my dried apples likewise.
I have a pack of Wyeast in front of me that claims, and I have no reason to doubt, it has a minimum of 100 billion yeast cells. It does not take much of a hobo to recognise that if the yeast contents of this pack were dried and subsequently re-hydrated that I may have less than 100 billion cells.
As I mentioned I am essentially a wet-yeast user, but for reasons other than viability.
I also have not used extract for about a decade so low wort FAN levels are not part of my world.
There will always be a dried vs wet yeast argument, tests reorted in Zymurgy show no signifcant difference between US05, WLP001 and 1056, same strain different containers.
In the real world practicality has a tendency to dominate, 375ml of beer poured into a 425 ml glass should brim or perhaps overflow, then again it may not, 450ml though will certainly give you the full glass, guess which one equates to re-hydration.

k

K

 

[MHB]

Fascinating article Skippy
I have spent years looking for an in-depth evaluation of use of dye markers to assess yeast viability in my bread and wine making yeast.

I can see that my old 1,000 X microscope and dropper bottle of Meth Blue just arent up to the standards of todys home brewer.

Far from lecturing on micro biology I recommend following the instructions written by the manufacture on the packets of yeast I sell, in this case Saf.
I also stock Wyeast; I recommend people follow the instructions on those packets to.
If I sold yeast that said to rehydrate before use I would give that advice, I would suggest that the manufacture should know best how to use the products they produce.

Interesting that a (is a graduate wine maker) chose to post a link to a blog which although it quotes some articles from J ABC, is just a blog. BTW that Blog site is for sale if youre interested.
MHB

 

[skippy]

MHB i'm hoping that you use your microscope to only look at yeast!

:lol: