Yeast Rehydration...

I am a big fan of dry yeast. I have been pitching dry - straight from the packet and never had any problems attenuating, but recently I have been considering rehydration prior to pitching.

The instructions for these fermantis brands (WB-06 in particular) call for "boiled then chilled (sterle) water 10 times the weight of the dry yeast" which equals about 115ml of ~80°F water (about 1/2 cup) per 11.5g packet.

Is it just me, or should there actually be more water for this process? In most threads I see where people are making 5-gallon batches, people are using at LEAST 1 cup of water...

Does anyone want to clear this up?

Doesn't matter, the 10x is a minimum.

I think your instructions should say "at least" as this couldn't make a difference.

Best is to use a nice wide, flat container to allow the maximum surface area. I use a tupperware container. I heat the water up in it (I don't actually boil), then stick it in the freezer to get a quick cool.

I usually rehydrate if I have the time. But if you are dry pitching with success, why bother? I use 10x and have had no problems.

Fermentis also says it's okay to pitch dry. I just do that.

For some reason I've been struggling with slow starts when rehydrating yeast the past few batches. Most recent batch I went ahead and sprinkled two packs of w-34/70 on top of the wort. Let it sit for about 10 minutes then gave it a good stir. Most of it had dropped into the wort by then. While it was sitting, you could see and smell it already getting to work.

Had fermentation within several hours. The yeast ripped through fermentation and was ready for a d-rest in just 6 days. Sample suggests this will be a good one.

If you've had success by just pitching in the dry yeast, why change? Go with what works for you!