Should I rehydrate yeast?

I am brewing my first beer tomorrow, and just had a question about the yeast. I've read a lot of things that say to rehydrate the yeast first, but the directions that came with it (Brewers Best IPA) say to just sprinkle the packet on top of the wort once it is all in the fermenter, and stir it in. Does it make a big difference? Any advice for a first timer?

One more question if you don't mind. I don't have a basement and figure the best spot for the fermenter (bucket) is in my bedroom closet. I have been keeping the AC at about 72 degrees and the temp in my bedroom has been reading about 75. Is this going to be a problem?

yes, rehydrate the yeast. i'm not an expert on the subject, but i seem to recall that you'll kill about half the yeast if you sprinkle on the wort.

and yes, you need much cooler temps to ferment clean. the ambient temp is going to be about 5-10 degrees cooler than the temp of the actual beer due to heat produced with fermentation. you can use the swamp cooler principle to keep your bucket within good fermentation temps.

Tbnguy said:

I am brewing my first beer tomorrow, and just had a question about the yeast. I've read a lot of things that say to rehydrate the yeast first, but the directions that came with it (Brewers Best IPA) say to just sprinkle the packet on top of the wort once it is all in the fermenter, and stir it in. Does it make a big difference? Any advice for a first timer?

One more question if you don't mind. I don't have a basement and figure the best spot for the fermenter (bucket) is in my bedroom closet. I have been keeping the AC at about 72 degrees and the temp in my bedroom has been reading about 75. Is this going to be a problem?

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What ever the yeast package says just go ahead and do it, if it says hydrate go ahead. If it says just sprinkle, do that. I have sprinkled when it says hydrate and it was fine.. 75 may be a bit warm, do ya have a fridge ya can control the temp? if not a ice bath works well to, just get a rubbermaid container and fill with water, put ice in as needed...ya should be okay though, would suggest a blow off tube for the first few days if your closet is carpet just in case..

here's a good link that describes the swamp cooler method.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/swamp-cooler-199965/

and here's a little more info on rehydrating yeast. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/do-you-hydrate-dry-yeast-39949/

Thanks for the tips. I think that I will rehydrate, and looks like I will be making some sort of swamp cooler. I hve a bunch of large empty rubbermaids so I'll double stack them and see how it goes. I just hope it doesn't get too warm on days where I am gone for 8 hours and can't add ice.

You'll be fine whether you rehydrate or not. I would be more concerned about your fermenting temps than the yeast. The swamp cooler works great. Maybe add an extra frozen water bottle when you leave for the day. I would rather have the temp get a little lower and then rise back to the desired temp, than to have it rise above it. If your closet stays at 75 I would bet (guesstimate) that the most it would rise would be 3-4 degrees over 8 hours.

Rehydrating dry yeast is almost always a good idea - assuming of course that you are sanitary and careful about your process. The homebrewing instructions on the packets are intended as the simplest, you-can't-screw-this-up procedure. But if you look at the same yeast manufacturer's websites for professional brewers, they all recommend rehydrating the yeast. Sprinkling the yeast directly on the wort certainly works, but rehydrating the yeast will give you a healthier fermentation.

As for the swamp cooler - you shouldn't need to worry about leaving it unattended for 8 hours - the thermal mass of the water in the cooler plus the liquid beer should be enough to maintain a cool enough temp (once you've gotten the temp down). Especially since your ambient air temp won't be drastically higher.

Good luck!

good practise to follow the yeast manufacturer's instructions, not the kit instructions. Also the yeast manufacturer's product sheet instructions (available on their website usually) could be different than what's printed on the package (can only fit so much info on the package). Best practise is to find out what the product sheet says, then do that--both in terms of pitching rate and in terms of whether or not to rehydrate (i.e. sometimes the manufacturer says rehydrating is not necessary depending on wort temperature). Also consult Mr. Malty for proper pitching rate--sometimes you need two packets.

JLem said:

Rehydrating dry yeast is almost always a good idea - assuming of course that you are sanitary and careful about your process. The homebrewing instructions on the packets are intended as the simplest, you-can't-screw-this-up procedure. But if you look at the same yeast manufacturer's websites for professional brewers, they all recommend rehydrating the yeast. Sprinkling the yeast directly on the wort certainly works, but rehydrating the yeast will give you a healthier fermentation.

As for the swamp cooler - you shouldn't need to worry about leaving it unattended for 8 hours - the thermal mass of the water in the cooler plus the liquid beer should be enough to maintain a cool enough temp (once you've gotten the temp down). Especially since your ambient air temp won't be drastically higher.Good luck!

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This is what I have found to be true. I brewed on Saturday and fermentation took off Sunday morning, slowly. By yesterday morning my airlock was bubbling away nicely. I had my swamp cooler ready on Saturday with water temperature at 62 degrees (I don't use a t-shirt, just frozen water bottles). I tossed a bottle in yesterday before I left for work and when I got home (10 hours later) the water temp was at 64-65. I actually have to be carefull not to get it down to low. My ambient temp in the closet I use is a steady 72.

Read this last post.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/starter-dry-yeast-244035/

Yes rehydrate ... read this by Jim Palmer:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-5.html

Explains using dry yeast very nicely.

unionrdr said:

Just do whatever way works for you.

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+1...Do what works for you. The only way to know is to go for it. But, in my experience whether you do or don't rehydrate doesn't make a noticeable difference in the beer. Yes, Palmer does recommend rehydrating. He also recommends making a pseudo-starter using table sugar to check the viability of the yeast. That's really what all of his discussion of dry yeast is about, making sure you have viable yeast. If you are worried about the viability of the yeast in your packet, follow Palmer's advice. Personally, I don't worry about. You can always pitch another packet later if it doesn't take off.

BigTerp said:

This is what I have found to be true. I brewed on Saturday and fermentation took off Sunday morning, slowly. By yesterday morning my airlock was bubbling away nicely. I had my swamp cooler ready on Saturday with water temperature at 62 degrees (I don't use a t-shirt, just frozen water bottles). I tossed a bottle in yesterday before I left for work and when I got home (10 hours later) the water temp was at 64-65. I actually have to be carefull not to get it down to low. My ambient temp in the closet I use is a steady 72.

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This goes with my estimation of a rise in temp throughout the day of approx 3-4 degrees. My point was it would be ideal to start the day a few degrees low and then finish on the mark rather than having it go a few degrees over. Either way though it shouldn't be that big of a deal as long as you are fermenting near the middle to low side of the desired temp range.

I am lucky that I have a small room that stays cool enough that all I need to do is put my carboy in a water bath and then MAYBE add a water bottle or two throughout fermentation. I will however put the carboy in the water right after aerating. I will then pitch and add a few frozen water bottles to get the wort down to the desired rang ASAP. Once there it will hold. So far I have been fermenting everything at 67-68f.