Stupid Dry Yeast Question

I've never used dry yeast before, should I hydrate per packet instructions or do I just sprinkle that sucker in there? It seems like most people just sprinkle it in. I am hoping to lower the gravity on my imperial stout a bit more and was going to try this. Would adding beano be a better option?

when i used dry yeast (many moons ago), i hydrated it as per the packet. you'll get a shorter lag time and a healthier ferment that way.

and no stupid questions here bro! i learn something everyday from the gang on here. ask away!

"Would adding beano be a better option?"


Beano? Never heard of it in a homebrew context. Not from a fermentation POV, anyway. Then, I'm pretty much a newbie as well.

Whassup with Beano, anyone?

the affect of Beano is to make a light beer focused on reducing the residual carbohydrates by increasing wort fermentability.

I hydrate in warm water, it's easier on the yeast not having to fight the osmotic pressure of the sugars.

Beano (r) never worked for me, my beer, or my dogs.

I got the Beano thing from Don Osborn (http://www.donosborn.com/homebrew/Beer_Log.htm), same source as my Arrogant Bastard clone which has turned out quite tasty. He said he uses it to lower gravity, was wondering if anyone had any opinions for either option.

I put my dry yeast in my LME container after I mix it in. I delute the extra LME on the side and try to create a happy home for it. Then once the wort cools off... I pitch it. Generally I get activity in 3 hours this way.

On the other side of this, I ignore the package instructions, if any. I just lightly sprinkle the yeast all over the top of my brew tank, close it up and walk away. Rarely does it take more than a day to start bubbling away and it normally is pretty active for 48 hours or so. I have no sense of whether this results in a more or less healthy ferment, but the beers have always come out fine. It might be relevent to note that I keep my brew tank in a spot that is cool in the summer (no more than 68F) and downright chilly in the winter - (about 55-60F).

joutlaw said:

I put my dry yeast in my LME container after I mix it in. I delute the extra LME on the side and try to create a happy home for it. Then once the wort cools off... I pitch it. Generally I get activity in 3 hours this way.

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I've read that dry yeast should only be rehydrated with pure water due to the osmotic pressure of a sugar solution that david_42 mentions, although if you're having good results go with it.

How do you know that the LME and LME residue is sanitary? May the containers be safely assumed to be sanitary as they come packaged?

It's sealed from Austin Homebrew, but I'm only assuming that it's sanitary.

I've never had problems with it though. It just seems to me as a mini-starter and if the yeast if taking off 3 hours or less I think its doing a good job.

I've had problems with pitchable yeast, in particular Wyeast, taking 48 - 72 hours to start.

I rehydrate my yeast (plain water) until stuff stops happening, then stir in a few spoonfuls of DME to get a starter going. It works well.

I have rehydrated my yeast both ways and the "just sprinkle it in" can work. That's how I did it before, now I do so with warm water because I read that more of the yeast survive that way. You can damage the yeast if you add it dry directly to the wort, but many will survive and you will still get OK fermentation.

I have tried the Beano trick once, and for me it was not worth it. I wanted to get that extra drop in gravity points and I think what I got was only an extra .001 OR .002 . But others may have had better results. Not worth the risk of picking something up in my opinion. I added the beano to the seconday. From what I read the simple version is that Beano contains an Enzyme that transforms the non-fermentable sugars to Fermentable sugars.