When To Add Yeast

[big78sam]

In my lurking here I've noticed people talking about adding yeast to the fermenter after the wort has been sitting there for a while, even the next day at times. The coopers kit instructions say to add the yeast immediately once the wort is in the fermenter as "at this point the wort is vulnerable and prompt addition of the yeast is more important than ideal temperatures"

How important is it to add the yeast straight away?

 

[Pollux]

If you are at yeast pitching temps, go for it ASAP to give the yeast a chance against any other microbes wanting to feed off your wort.....


Main reason people leave it is to give the wort time to cool down after a full volume boil, but doing kits you should be able to hit pitch and ferment temps (i.e. 18-20 for an ale, ignore the instructions when they say 24) quite easily and pitch right away...

 

[j1gsaw]

Generally to stop any nasties from contaminating the brew, once it is cool enough wack the yeast in, quick stir and away you go. The longer the wort stays open the bigger the risk etc, my 2c..

 

[Gavo]

With a kit, where you are adding water straight from the tap I would always aim at getting the temp right straight away and pitching the yeast straight away. Many people who leave the pitching of the yeast till the next day would be boiling all of their water. However, if sanitation is spot on then within a few hours should be ok. Just make sure the lid is on.

More importantly you should be keeping your fermentation temps for an ale kit as close to 18 C as possible.

Cheers
Gavo.

 

[razE]

Pitching yeast into wort that is too hot will result in killing the yeast. When they talk about pitching the yeast regardless of the temp i would imagine there assuming the water you top up with will be less than 30 degrees. Personally when brewing i will get my temps down close as to the temp i wish to ferment at and then pitch the yeast so as not to get any unwanted flavours in the beer. Generally the hotter you ferment at the more fruity flavours you will have and if you have an old bar fridge or freezer at home invest in a temp mate or similar. Stick around 18 - 20 degrees for your ales and 9 - 12 degrees for your lagers and ditch the kit yeasts if your still using them. Keep on with any other questions

 

[flattop]

I've pitched as high as 28*c without problem, of course you don't really want to ferment at that temp, just that i like to get the brew going then concentrate on my cleanup.
Agree with filing the kit yeast in the sulo ... buy some good yeast and you will be happier with a cleaner result.
Try to match your yeast with the brew you are making (LHBS can advise you or look around here a bit) and harvest the yeast afterwards to reuse later

 

[rclemmett]

I've pitched as high as 28*c without problem, of course you don't really want to ferment at that temp, just that i like to get the brew going then concentrate on my cleanup.
Agree with filing the kit yeast in the sulo ... buy some good yeast and you will be happier with a cleaner result.
Try to match your yeast with the brew you are making (LHBS can advise you or look around here a bit) and harvest the yeast afterwards to reuse later

+1.

I don't have a way to check the temp of wort while cooling, so I rely on putting my hand on the side of the kettle. Typically my wort comes out of the kettle and into fermenter between 25-30C. I pitch at these temps and place the fermenter in the the temp controlled fridge, set at ferment temp. This allows the wort to cool further before the yeast is out of the aerobic phase.

I have never had problems with unwanted flavours with this method.

In answer to your question, It is very important to pitch as soon as possible. Keep in mind that the wort is going into a sanitised fermenter, not a sterile fermenter. This means that there is likely to be some bacteria present, so you want the yeast to get producing alcohol quickly to kill off any bacteria.

 

[big78sam]

Thanks guys. Using a recultured coopers yeast so this is not a problem. It was past high krausen and I needed to give it a boost before pitching (thanks to butters for the advice on this). It wasn't really a temperature problem, sorry to throw you with the temperature reference.

Thought this question was better in a new thread rather than adding to the reculturing coopers yeast thread as it's really a different topic...

 

[buttersd70]

All yeast has a 'lag' time to it; what will happen with boosting that starter like I advised is that, even though it will be sitting for an hour or 2 without yeast in the fermenter, the yeast that is pitched will take off quicker...so it reduces the overall lag time. (just to put it in context for those that missed the other thread. )

 

[Alby]

My tap water here in Broome comes out around 30+C...is it ok to add a few litres of chilled water when filling the fermenter so that my wort is ready for yeast straight away?...or do I need to cool the whole lot down in the fermentation fridge before pitching yeast....also, when pitching dry yeast, I have always sprinkled and stirred...is the stirring necessary?

Cheers

Al

 

[flattop]

Try to get the temp below 30* and keep it cooling after you pitch, it will be fine.
As for shaken and stirred......
I actually prefer rehydrated, sprinkle the yeast into a glass tepid sterile water and cover it while you prepare your wort it wakes the yeast up, a touch of dex can help also.
Then just pour it into the wort.
Theoretically stirring is bad (cant remember why may be sanitation) but i can say that i have pitched onto a foamy wort with dry yeast and it never sunk in, the foam lasted 3 days and i had to re pitch (ill never fill the fermenter with cold water from the shower head again).

Short answer, if you pitch dry yeast make sure it gets wet and doesn't sit on top.

 

[razE]

If your tempreture controll device is reading 30+ personally i would wait for it to chill down a few degrees to around the 26's pitch and continue to chill to fermentation temp. Adding some chilled water is a good idea and i would recommend a water filter if your not using one. No need to stir, but cant hurt as long as whatever you stir with has been sanitised obviously. Would rehyrdrate the yeast as flattop said

 

[Gavo]

My tap water here in Broome comes out around 30+C...is it ok to add a few litres of chilled water when filling the fermenter so that my wort is ready for yeast straight away?

Add chilled water to your hearts content. When doing partials on the stove top I used to add ice to the fermenter to get to pitching temps. Always have some chilled water on hand when doing a brew.

Cheers
Gavo.

 

[Brisfox]

I"m really new to this in fact 5 brews old but I'm getting the hang of it.Living in the middle of Bris it has been hot.I"ve learnt to keep 4 lts of chilled water and add this to get the temp down to about 24-25 before letting the yeast go.I hope I'm doing the right thing, but I love the trial not to much error yet and some great beers.

 

[Gavo]

I"m really new to this in fact 5 brews old but I'm getting the hang of it.Living in the middle of Bris it has been hot.I"ve learnt to keep 4 lts of chilled water and add this to get the temp down to about 24-25 before letting the yeast go.I hope I'm doing the right thing, but I love the trial not to much error yet and some great beers.

Four litres, is that all? :lol: Are you doing the right thing? Well if it's working, then yes. I used to keep 10 litres ready and have the ice just in case it was needed. In the end I just had the ten litres. I was aiming at a pitching temp of around 22 C then ferment at 18 C.
Best bet is to keep the fermentation temp down.

Gavo.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I was aiming at a pitching temp of around 22 C then ferment at 18 C.
Best bet is to keep the fermentation temp down.

Gavo.

Yes the coldest as your yeast will ferment at is always the best bet! Nice and clean flavour profile.But if you are just starting out with out the controlling gear, you will still make a half descent beer.Watch those temps and record the out comes.
GB

 

[RdeVjun]

Four litres, is that all? :lol: Are you doing the right thing? Well if it's working, then yes. I used to keep 10 litres ready and have the ice just in case it was needed. In the end I just had the ten litres. I was aiming at a pitching temp of around 22 C then ferment at 18 C.
Best bet is to keep the fermentation temp down.

Gavo.

+ 1 Gavo! (OT: And he should know- I remember hearing the weather forecast a few weeks ago for Miles on Aunty, it was a Monday night and they said, "... and Miles expected top tomorrow of 40deg, with a cool change expected to come through on Friday..."!! With all due respect, not a patch on southern conditions of late, I know, but it still cracked me up.)
Anyway, with 23 litre extract brews of two tins of ME in the boil at the end, I keep about 16 litres of chilled, if not slushy, near- frozen water on hand and generally use it all to get about 20degC. Its great to throw it all in the fermenter and then be able to pitch straight away, particularly if you have a frothing starter going nuts and climbing out of your schott bottle.

 

[Gavo]

+ 1 Gavo! (OT: And he should know- I remember hearing the weather forecast a few weeks ago for Miles on Aunty, it was a Monday night and they said, "... and Miles expected top tomorrow of 40deg, with a cool change expected to come through on Friday..."!!

:icon_offtopic: :lol: and that's the norm here in summer. Not the cool change though. I like growing veggies as well and have decided winter crops are the go, summer crops just get burned out, just have to get over the -4 degrees C and the associated frosts.

For any brewer committed to temp control, a fridge and a fridgemate are the least that should be done. If that can't be done use frozen PET bottles and a cupboard. For me its a fridge and a tempmate as winter temps can go from -4 to 26 degrees C in one day.

Love the temps here in winter and summer.

Gavo.

 

[Ade42]

Yeh Im only on my 3rd now and ready for my 4th, in Brisie also and keep about 12-16 odd liters of Chilled if not half frozen just to get it to temp!!