Stirplate

Ok so I'm kinda new to all this but I'm using some Nottingham yeast and it says to rehydrate in 4 oz of water. Are people using a stir plate with this small amount of liquid or are they just adding wort to the flask after the yeast is hydrated?

Dry yeast is typically not rehydrated on a stir plate. I never rehydrate dry yeast, I jus pitch it on top of the wort in the fermenter and give it a swirl. I have used notty a few times and never rehydrated it with no issues.

Rehydrating your yeast doesn't require a stirplate. Water and yeast in a sanitized bowl is all that's required. You're just filling the cells, hydrating them, so they will withstand the transition to the wort better.

Its a best practice, for sure, but many don't bother.

No stir plate for dry yeast.
Hydrating is just that, adding sterilized room temp water to plump up the yeast.
Proofing is water and some fermentable sugar that will start the yeast working, thus "proof" the yeast is good.
A stir plate is used when you want to grow more yeast than you have. Maybe from a bottle harvest, a slant, or a vile of liquid yeast. Liquid yeast doesn't last nearly as long as dry, and will start to die off. A stir plate allows you to grow a little or a lot depending on the beer your brewing.

I don't use dry yeast too often, but many (myself included) just dump the package in and put the lid on.

whitehause said:

No stir plate for dry yeast.
Hydrating is just that, adding sterilized room temp water to plump up the yeast.
Proofing is water and some fermentable sugar that will start the yeast working, thus "proof" the yeast is good.
A stir plate is used when you want to grow more yeast than you have. Maybe from a bottle harvest, a slant, or a vile of liquid yeast. Liquid yeast doesn't last nearly as long as dry, and will start to die off. A stir plate allows you to grow a little or a lot depending on the beer your brewing.

I don't use dry yeast too often, but many (myself included) just dump the package in and put the lid on.

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+1 to no str plate!

I don't believe the directions call for ROOM TEMP water. It's been a while, but IIRC the temp is supposed to be around 90-100F?

Perhaps a more recent user could clarify.

I've had diacetyl problems that some have thought came from too hot of a rehydrate, around 100F. The yeast manufacturers normally have instructions on their website that they don't include on the sachet. I'll be rehydrating with 75-80F next time around.

This is the section of How to Brew (Online Version) that talks about rehydrating yeast. Again, no stirplate for this process.

http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html

(BTW... I have never "proofed" the yeast as described in the link I posted.)

Piratwolf said:

+1 to no str plate!

I don't believe the directions call for ROOM TEMP water. It's been a while, but IIRC the temp is supposed to be around 90-100F?

Perhaps a more recent user could clarify.

Click to expand...

If you are "proofing" yeast, I could see using 90 deg water to help dissolve the sugars and jump start the yeast reproduction.

If you're just re-hydrating, there is no need to use real warm water. Since most people try to keep wort temp and pitching temp the same, I wouldn't want to pitch 90 deg yeast in to 65 deg wort. Plus, 100 deg is getting close to the temp that would damage the yeast. You could let it sit covered till it cools to pitching temp, but there are so many people getting good results with direct pitching that it seems unnecessary.

BTW.....The package of S-05 I bought last week just says "sprinkle on to wort". It makes no mention of re-hydrating at all.

Here ya go, whitehause. They sachet has the simple instructions. The website has the "pro" instructions. http://www.fermentis.com/fo/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf

I usually do liquid yeast and starters but when I have used dry I get two packs (it's cheap enough) and just dump in right on top of the chilled wort. Never had issues but it is not a bad thing to hydrate your yeast!!

I would only "proof" yeast that was very old or maybe subject to extreme temps.

jeepinjeepin said:

Here ya go, whitehause. They sachet has the simple instructions. The website has the "pro" instructions. http://www.fermentis.com/fo/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf

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Thanks for the clarification, jeepinjeepin! Like I said, it's been a while!

Garyr2973 said:

Ok so I'm kinda new to all this but I'm using some Nottingham yeast and it says to rehydrate in 4 oz of water. Are people using a stir plate with this small amount of liquid or are they just adding wort to the flask after the yeast is hydrated?

Click to expand...

Nottingham is a very strong strain of dry yeast. IMHO, I've done my own tests on it. Two IPAs side by side, one pitched with dry nottingham and one with rehydrated. No distinguishable difference between the both. It's just a matter of preference. As long as you aerate (slosh or beer stone), Nottingham (as with most other dry yeasts) will go to town within 12 hours, rehydrated or direct-pitched. Hope this helps.

jeepinjeepin said:

Here ya go, whitehause. They sachet has the simple instructions. The website has the "pro" instructions. http://www.fermentis.com/fo/pdf/HB/EN/Safale_US-05_HB.pdf

Click to expand...

I'm familiar with the process, but thanks for the link.

I'm sure the "pro" method works great or they wouldn't post it, but for a novice brewer, my fear would be that they would be stirring for 30 mins in the open air which would increase the risk of infection. The sprinkle on the wort method has been used with great success, so it just seems like an unnecessary step at this point in a "young" brewing career.