lowend

Recipes 

nibiyabi

Recipes 

That's what my first kit instructed me to do. It told me to lower the wort to 70-80º, so once it hit 75º, I racked it to the primary and just sprinkled the yeasties on top. OG was 1.043 and current G (might be FG, need to check again in a couple days) is 1.011 so it definitely worked.

__________________
Primary #1: empty
Primary #2: Old Greg's Honey Stout (brewed 2009.03.20)
Secondary #1: Old Greg's Apfelwein (modified) (made 2009.03.20)
Secondary #2: Old Greg's Apfelwein (made 2009.03.05)
Keg #1: Old Greg's American IPA (brewed 2009.02.20 // secondaried 2009.02.28 // kegged 2009.03.07 // tapped 2009.03.30)
Keg #2: Old Greg's Chocolate Hazelnut Porter (brewed 2009.03.06 // kegged 2009.03.30)

RIP: Old Greg's Classic Beer Pong Ale (2009.02.27 - 2009.03.06)

double_e5

Recipes 

I rehydrate my yeast, but many people will just directly pitch their dry yeast. YMMV...

Bobby_M

Recipes 

In general, pitching dry reduces the number of viable cells to about half. In a low gravity batch, it may not matter. Anything over 1.050 and I'd rehydrate.

__________________
Sightglasses and more at BrewHardware.com | All Grain Primer Still Available too!

Revvy

Recipes 

If you look at the fermentis website, one of the recommended methods is to sprinkle on the wort, then wait 30 minutes and stir or lightly agitate...

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf

That is pretty much the same thing as rehydrating dry yeast outside of the fermenter, except you are doing it on the surface of the wort instead of water....So it's rehydrating with wort rather than water...and actually that makes more sense to me, letting it wake up to breakfast instead of water first...

If I'm waking up to the smell of bacon, I know I'll have a bigger appetite, than if I woke up to the smell of water, why would our yeastie friends be any different?

That's what I've been doing for the last 6 months or so, actually I haven't been stirring the yeast in after the half hour.... What I doo is aerate, pitch my yeast, close the fermenter, and start cleaning and packing up my gear, then in about a half hour I move my fermenter into my brew closet, which pretty much shakes it up enough to incorporate.

__________________

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible

Recipes 

When I started brewing I pitched dry to keep it simple. Later on, with more confidence I rehydrated. These days I make starters. No need to rush into things, try everything and see what works for you.

Edit: In my case, i am talking about ales. For lagers, it's a different matter.

Weizenheimer

Recipes 

I have always pitched dry yeast directly without rehydrating and without stirring. Just toss it in on top and seal it. Never had a problem doing it this way.

CiscoKid

Recipes 

Keeping in mind that I don't follow this, and have been pitching dry yeast similar to the way most of you have described, just sprinkling it on top, I did find the following from Clayton Cone (who according to the internet knows a thing or two about yeast, but I can't say I know who he is...):

For the initial few minutes (perhaps seconds) of rehydration, the yeast
cell wall cannot differentiate what passes through the wall. Toxic
materials like sprays, hops, SO2 and sugars in high levels, that the yeast
normally can selectively keep from passing through its cell wall rush right
in and seriously damage the cells. The moment that the cell wall is
properly reconstituted, the yeast can then regulate what goes in and out of
the cell. That is why we hesitate to recommend rehydration in wort or
must. Very dilute wort seems to be OK.

Rehydrating Dry Yeast with Dr. Clayton Cone « The Koehler Brewery

But like I said, I'm lazy and just sprinkle it over the top, seal it up, wash my dishes, and carry my fermenter to the basement.

__________________

GilaMinumBeer

Recipes 

Revvy, IIRC, Fermentis has changed their recommendations and now suggests that all yeast be re-hdrated prior to pitching.

OP:

There are a couple issues with direct pitching dry yeast. I will explain but first, if you are looking for a truely direct pitchable yeat then you should be looking at liquid and buy larger quantitites to avoid having to make a starter. An expensive option to say the least.

The reasoning behind it not being advisable to direct pitch dry yeast is that the cell walls are vulberable. During re-hydration the walls will allow everything to pass through, including sugars and possible bacteria, and this can stress and possibly mutate the yeast. By re-hydrating first you ensure that the yeast has a fighting chance to regulate how, what, and when it metabolizes. You reduce the potetntial for stress and mutations also increasing the rate of viability. Which further boosts the reduction of the lag phase.

The yeast will still survive and ferment without re-hydration but the lag phase may be extended and the potetnial for petite mutants in the cake is increased.

__________________

Revvy

Recipes 

Show me the change...because that PDF is still on their website....

__________________