bonehead mistake

I boiled water for rehydrating 2 packs of S-04, and forgot to cool before I dumped the yeast in. It was like 95F+. Alot of the yeast really fell to the bottom. Should I scrap and get some more?

Pretty sure yeast is supposed to be rehydrated between 90 and 110....so you're more than okay.

hillhousesawdustco said:

Pretty sure yeast is supposed to be rehydrated between 90 and 110....so you're more than okay.

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Fermentis strains (at least S-04 and US-05) they say to rehydrate at 80F +/- 6F.

That said, warmer than ideal, but the yeast should be able to withstand it. Definitely don't ferment at that temperature though.

to top it off, I dropped my hop spider in the cooled wort, and probably contaminated the batch

Depends on how much + is "95+". If it's 96, then you're probably ok. If it's 120 then you might have issues...

Hop spider probably didn't kill it. Let it all ride for a day or two and then if nothing is happening pitch some more yeast.

Was it only 95 or hotter? You said it was boiling. How soon after you pulled it off the burner did you rehydrate? If it was pretty soon after, the water was probably hotter than 95 IMO.

If you have yeast on hand, it wouldn't hurt to throw it in. Otherwise, wait a bit.

I wouldn't be too fast to judge if it's contaminated or not. I've done some pretty dumb stuff that led me to believe my beer was contaminated. In the end they came out fine. Hell, I forgot to boil the water I was using to rehydrate yeast today and dumped it right into my fermenter just this morning! You'll be fine.

pjk49202 said:

I wouldn't be too fast to judge if it's contaminated or not. I've done some pretty dumb stuff that led me to believe my beer was contaminated. In the end they came out fine. Hell, I forgot to boil the water I was using to rehydrate yeast today and dumped it right into my fermenter just this morning! You'll be fine.

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Haha - I do something dumb every batch! This is probably my 15th batch, and I think of a new mistake to make every time. Last batch, my battery was bad on my thermometer, and I chilled my wort to like 45F.

Cbaddad said:

Hop spider probably didn't kill it. Let it all ride for a day or two and then if nothing is happening pitch some more yeast.

Was it only 95 or hotter? You said it was boiling. How soon after you pulled it off the burner did you rehydrate? If it was pretty soon after, the water was probably hotter than 95 IMO.

If you have yeast on hand, it wouldn't hurt to throw it in. Otherwise, wait a bit.

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I stuck my sanitized thermometer right in the yeast when I realized what I had done, and it rose to 90 real fast, hit 95 slowly and then I pulled it. knowing my thermometer, it could have possibly continued to rise quite a bit if I left it in. so it's tough to say. I thought I was screwed at that point so I didn't take a super accurate reading. I am still debating running to the brewstore. I have the wort capped in the fermenter right now

The water had sat in the pot with a sanitized lid for some time before I transferred to a measuring cup and dumped the yeast in.

Yeast is cheap. If you're going out anyway, it wouldn't be an issue to pick up a pack and just sprinkle it right into the wort. If the first yeast was fine (it probably is) then you're just pitching a touch high. If it died, then it'll feed the new yeast.

You know, it the LHBS is not too far, I would probably do it just for peace of mind. Then you could really sit back and relax. In fact, buy a couple extra packets and have them on hand for the next time.

It will probably be okay, but if the temperature was in the 120 or higher range I would think a lot of your yeasties were cooked. Pitch a new pack and you will be totally good to go. The risk of infection on the hop spider is minimal in my opinion.

ChshreCat said:

Yeast is cheap. If you're going out anyway, it wouldn't be an issue to pick up a pack and just sprinkle it right into the wort. If the first yeast was fine (it probably is) then you're just pitching a touch high. If it died, then it'll feed the new yeast.

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good advice. I just pitched it. If I make it to the store I'll grab a pack, and sprinkle on top.

well I bought 2 more packs, sprinkled one on the wort, and have a backup in the fridge. the upside anyways - I hit my target OG perfectly. thanks for all the help and suggestions

I sprinkled mine in at 87* on Saturday and still waiting for fermenatation to kick off! Seems I had more luck sprinkling in right into the wort rather than rehydrating. Guess I'll see how the blowoff tube is looking today when I get back from work...