Can anyone help me understand the Nottingham yeast rehydration instructions:
The bit that I'm not sure about is the second part. What are 'aliquots of wort'? I guess it's small amounts taken from the cooling wort, but how much? It sounds like it needs to be pitched within 5 or 10 minutes after the post-stir 5 minuite wait. Timing it this precise would be tricky to get it to coincide with when the wort has chilled to the right pitching temperature. I prefer minimum handling to reduce risk of contamination, so this 'aliquots of wort' business sounds like a risky proposition to me. I'll probably just play it safe and pitch dry as I usually do with Safale yeasts but I'm curious.
- Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of 10 times its weight of clean, sterilized (boiled) water at 3035°C.
Do not use wort, or distilled or reverse osmosis water, as loss in viability will result. DO NOT STIR. Leave undisturbed for 15 minutes, then stir to suspend the yeast completely, and leave it for 5 more minutes at 3035°C. Then adjust temperature to that of the wort and inoculate without delay.
- Attemperate in steps at 5-minute intervals of 10°C to the temperature of the wort by mixing aliquots of wort. Do not allow attemperation to be carried out by natural heat loss. This will take too long and could result in loss of viability or vitality.
- Temperature shock, at greater than 10°C, will cause formation of petite mutants leading to long-term or incomplete fermentation and possible formation of undesirable flavours.
- Nottingham British Ale yeast has been conditioned to survive rehydration. The yeast contains an adequate reservoir of carbohydrates and unsaturated fatty acids to achieve active growth. It is unnecessary to aerate wort.
The bit that I'm not sure about is the second part. What are 'aliquots of wort'? I guess it's small amounts taken from the cooling wort, but how much? It sounds like it needs to be pitched within 5 or 10 minutes after the post-stir 5 minuite wait. Timing it this precise would be tricky to get it to coincide with when the wort has chilled to the right pitching temperature. I prefer minimum handling to reduce risk of contamination, so this 'aliquots of wort' business sounds like a risky proposition to me. I'll probably just play it safe and pitch dry as I usually do with Safale yeasts but I'm curious.