Re-hydrating dry yeast

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

togodoug

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
243
Reaction score
3
Location
saipan
Re-hydrating dry yeast. I now some guys who don’t bother, just pitch the dry yeast into the wort and cover it up.
I’m having real issues with a sour, astringent after taste. I’ve tries different yeasts, different water and still have the same taste no matter what the recipe.
I’m wondering now if its bacteria, although I sanitize everything with one-step.
I wonder if it is sanitation, re-hydration is just one more step and opportunity to mess up and get bacteria in the wort. So should I just skin that step??
 
Re-hydrating dry yeast. I now some guys who don’t bother, just pitch the dry yeast into the wort and cover it up.
I’m having real issues with a sour, astringent after taste. I’ve tries different yeasts, different water and still have the same taste no matter what the recipe.
I’m wondering now if its bacteria, although I sanitize everything with one-step.
I wonder if it is sanitation, re-hydration is just one more step and opportunity to mess up and get bacteria in the wort. So should I just skin that step??
 
I'm sure someone else will chime in and disagree with me, but I use dry yeast and pitch directly into my wort. If it's aerated well it usually takes off right away.

I've read that rehydrating allows the yeast to fill their cells with water which will not kill as many as letting them fill their cells with wort, but I've never done a side by side comparison to see how this affects taste if it even affects it at all.
 
like you said some folks skip that step but I like to hydrate the yeast. not really a big risk of contamination. just boil the water, cool it down, stir in the yeast and cover it with sanitized foil. I wonder if your off flavor has anything to do with the temperature your fermenting at
 
How long are you waiting after bottling to drink? I've run into astringency 2 weeks after bottling that fades quickly after that. I almost always use dry yeast and always rehydrate because its easy. I doubt that's your issue.

My method: place a cup with a few ounces of room temp water in a pan of hot water, remove when water is about 75 degrees. Sprinkle in yeast. Pretty foolproof method.
 
Just noticed you said you use one-step, as mentioned in many other threads, that's a cleaner not a sanitizer. Ive used it and like it, but starsan and other products are much better.
 
Skipping rehydration is a mistake IMO unless you are not capable of keeping that a clean process. By rehydrating you are creating more viable yeasts which can fight off any bacterial invasion, so it's a good thing. Sour and astringency are two different things and can be caused by several factors. Can you get StarSan ? I think it is far better than one-step for keeping things sanitary.
 
Just noticed you said you use one-step, as mentioned in many other threads, that's a cleaner not a sanitizer. Ive used it and like it, but starsan and other products are much better.

I've now got Iodophor Sanitizer. Thoughts?
 
How long are you waiting after bottling to drink? I've run into astringency 2 weeks after bottling that fades quickly after that. I almost always use dry yeast and always rehydrate because its easy. I doubt that's your issue.

My method: place a cup with a few ounces of room temp water in a pan of hot water, remove when water is about 75 degrees. Sprinkle in yeast. Pretty foolproof method.

But would it taste okay at bottling and then not a week later?
 
I was wondering if it's the same bacteria that they make sour ales with,just a wild strain? I use PBW to clean everything,then star-san when I'm getting ready to use it. I've tried small starters to wake them up,& propagate a little. I've tried merely re-hydrating as well. I like the small starter better,since it def took off way faster. But re-hydration does help it get going a little better,certainly. Just not as fast as a starter,ime.
 
like you said some folks skip that step but I like to hydrate the yeast. not really a big risk of contamination. just boil the water, cool it down, stir in the yeast and cover it with sanitized foil. I wonder if your off flavor has anything to do with the temperature your fermenting at

when you cool it down, do you cool it down to room temperature? IIRC doesn't the yeast packaging typically say to pitch it in your water around 95F? Will it hurt if you put it in at room temp and then cover with foil? Also, when you pitch your rehydrated yeast into the wort, do you still stir it in and aerate?
 
Back
Top