sprinkling yeast over wort - will my beer even brew now?

GinAndCoffee · Oct 31, 2009

So... I think I might have made a mistake. After I poured my wort into the primary fermenter (the beginnings of a dunkelweizen, if you are interested) the instructions for my Brewer's Best kit instructed me to "sprinkle the yeast packet" into the wort. So, I did.

But! I came on here and noticed that everyone readies their yeast in a cup of warm water... should I have done that? Will what I've done affect my beer's taste?

Thanks.

Parker36 · Oct 31, 2009

What yeast did you use? Normally the method you used should work fine, but the yeast itself might be garbage. The whole warm water thing is mostly to "proof" the yeast to make sure it is still viable along with "waking" the yeast and not shocking it, but those packets are made to be poured directly into the wort.

I would recommend not using the yeast that comes with the kits anymore. Pick up a pack of dry yeast (cost about $1) and it will make you beer infinitely better.

KhellendrosXS · Oct 31, 2009

I just did a Brewers Best kit (my first) three weeks ago. I did not re-hydrate the yeast and within 12 hours it was happily bubbling along.

All is well, after all, its what the instructions said to do.

RDWHAHB!

Dirt101 · Oct 31, 2009

I think itll be just fine, I always rehydrated (mostly Nottingham, until thier troubles started)..but three days ago sprinkled some S-05 after rehydrating 2 packets of Notty that just didnt look or act like what I was used too.. took off like crazy in about 18 hours...

GinAndCoffee · Oct 31, 2009

So the goal of proofing yeast in water is just to make sure it's alive? Does sprinkling vs. proofing affect the taste in any way?

elkdog · Oct 31, 2009

GinAndCoffee said:
So the goal of proofing yeast in water is just to make sure it's alive? Does sprinkling vs. proofing affect the taste in any way?

Minimally, if at all. Proofing the yeast can wake them up more gently so you get a higher number of viable yeast in your beer, but sprinkling it straight into the fermenter, which is what I usually do, will work fine.

rlhvegas · Oct 31, 2009

Sprinkle Away! :mug:

Rick500 · Oct 31, 2009

It'll work, but viability of the yeast is about half of what it would have been if you had rehydrated the yeast first. You'll get about half the amount of live yeast that you would have if you'd rehydrated.

From How to Brew by John Palmer:

Dry yeast should be re-hydrated in water before pitching. Often the concentration of sugars in wort is high enough that the yeast can not draw enough water across the cell membranes to restart their metabolism.

So, your beer will ferment, but next time I certainly would rehydrate first to ensure you're not underpitching.

Yuri_Rage · Oct 31, 2009

There's some great info at this link:

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38

bhs668 · Oct 31, 2009

I have never rehydrated on the 10 or so batches that I've made. Never had an issue.

SteveM · Oct 31, 2009

"Everyone" doesn't rehydrate. I've been brewing for years and have never once rehydrated a dry yeast. Never had a problem except with Nottingham during their recent troubles (see the yeast forum). Rehydrating was not going to fix the problems with Nottingham.

boo boo · Oct 31, 2009

I rehudrate for the most part, but for my last brew just took a packet of US-05 out of the freezer and sprinkled it on top of my wort and it was rockin 12 hours later. ( When I finally looked at it )

Cheaton · Oct 31, 2009

I think actually if you spend a bit MORE time reading on here you'll find most people DON'T rehydrate dry yeast. But alot of people make starters for "liquid" yeasts.

Yuri_Rage · Oct 31, 2009

SteveM said:
"Everyone" doesn't rehydrate.

That doesn't mean it's not a good idea.

Cheaton said:
I think actually if you spend a bit MORE time reading on here you'll find most people DON'T rehydrate dry yeast.

Perhaps. But I also think you'll find that the more experienced brewers do.

Cheaton · Oct 31, 2009

Yuri_Rage said:
That doesn't mean it's not a good idea.

Perhaps. But I also think you'll find that the more experienced brewers do.

I think you're speaking from personal preference. While I realize you've been around here for a long time; in my short time here I've done some pretty extensive reading on these forums and I would wager that generally speaking for 5 gallon batches most people on these board don't rehydrate (experienced and inexperienced alike). I would also say that there's very little evidence that there's much benefit from doing so. If it makes you feel better to rehydrate, go ahead. But when you pitch dry yeast, you ARE rehydrating. What's the difference between dumping the yeast in water for an hour before you pitch, and dumping it straight into the wort other than perhaps an extra hour of lagtime? Not much.... But like I said, it's preference and one should do whatever makes them feel good.

boo boo · Oct 31, 2009

Cheaton said:
I think you're speaking from personal preference. While I realize you've been around here for a long time; in my short time here I've done some pretty extensive reading on these forums and I would wager that generally speaking for 5 gallon batches most people on these board don't rehydrate (experienced and inexperienced alike). I would also say that there's very little evidence that there's much benefit from doing so. If it makes you feel better to rehydrate, go ahead. But when you pitch dry yeast, you ARE rehydrating. What's the difference between dumping the yeast in water for an hour before you pitch, and dumping it straight into the wort other than perhaps an extra hour of lagtime? Not much.... But like I said, it's preference and one should do whatever makes them feel good.

If you feel that way, then perhaps you should read the answer given to Dan Listerman when he posed that question to the expert.
http://koehlerbeer.com/2008/06/07/rehydrating-dry-yeast-with-dr-clayton-cone/

Rick500 · Oct 31, 2009

Cheaton said:
I think you're speaking from personal preference. While I realize you've been around here for a long time; in my short time here I've done some pretty extensive reading on these forums and I would wager that generally speaking for 5 gallon batches most people on these board don't rehydrate (experienced and inexperienced alike). I would also say that there's very little evidence that there's much benefit from doing so. If it makes you feel better to rehydrate, go ahead. But when you pitch dry yeast, you ARE rehydrating. What's the difference between dumping the yeast in water for an hour before you pitch, and dumping it straight into the wort other than perhaps an extra hour of lagtime? Not much.... But like I said, it's preference and one should do whatever makes them feel good.

No arguments from me that just sprinkling a fresh packet of dry yeast into the wort will ferment the beer.

But the difference between rehydrating with water and rehydrating with wort, is in what the yeast cells are pulling through their cell walls in the first moments that they're in the liquid. About twice the number of yeast cells will live through rehydrating in water than will live through rehydrating in wort.

Cheaton · Oct 31, 2009

boo boo said:
If you feel that way, then perhaps you should read the answer given to Dan Listerman when he posed that question to the expert.
http://koehlerbeer.com/2008/06/07/rehydrating-dry-yeast-with-dr-clayton-cone/

Thanks for this, finally someone posts something that has some sort of science to it. That link should be stickied somewhere. Not that I'm going to start rehydrating my yeast, but it's nice to know the reason its recommended vs. just do it because someone says so. Sounds like the actual issue is just a lag time issue, or the potential of a fermentation that doesn't start. But, based on that article it sounds like there's also potential wreck the yeast if done improperly.

Yuri_Rage · Oct 31, 2009

Cheaton, I posted very similar information in post #9. Your attitude has been less than pleasant here.

JLem · Oct 31, 2009

is it necessary? No - you can make really good beer without rehydrating the yeast.

But, given the benefits of doing so (nicely touched upon above), you will probably make better beer by doing so.

mr_clean · Oct 31, 2009

yesssssssssssss

yeoldebrewer · Nov 1, 2009

IMO the goal is to pitch the yeast in a manner that maximizes viability. I think the more experienced brewers here will agree that this is especially important as the OG of the wort goes up.

I defer to advice to re-hydrate published by the people who develop and manufacture dry yeast, and supply it to both home brewers and to professional brewers.

david_42 · Nov 1, 2009

GinAndCoffee said:
So the goal of proofing yeast in water is just to make sure it's alive? Does sprinkling vs. proofing affect the taste in any way?

Re-hydrating yeast isn't proofing yeast. It's just letting the yeast absorb water slowly. Proofing requires waiting long enough for the yeast to shift to producing CO2 (and 15 minutes isn't anywhere long enough). You do NOT want this to happen, because then the yeast has to shift back to the growth mode.

Sometimes yeast will foam when you re-hydrate. It means nothing according to the manufacturers.

There won't be any difference in flavor, just the sprinkle method takes a little longer to start.

sprinkling yeast over wort - will my beer even brew now?

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