Dry yeast - make a starter with it or no?

I have read several sources that say not to make a starter with dry yeast because the little yeasties are already packed with energy and ready to go.

But it seems that even if that is true, they still will need to multiply greatly in my five gallons of wort, so shouldn't I still make a starter?

Also I think I read somewhere that on the starter, pour off the top clear liquid and just use the bottom. This was to get rid of the off flavors created during the yeast's initial growth cycles. Is this what other people do?

You don't need a starter for dry yeast. Some people rehydrate them. I just sanitize the sachet, and "sprinkle them evenly across the wort" (read: pour them unceremoniously into my better bottle)

A lot of people do not make a starter when using dry yeast. Personally, I will never brew again without making a starter.

You should decant (pour off the liquid) if you made your starter ahead of time. If you don't have time to allow the yeast to settle, you can pitch the entire starter.

I've always used dry yeast since it's so much simpler and $3 per 5 gallon batch for yeast beats messing with starters and worrying about contamination IMHO. One day I'll wash yeast and do starters just to cut some of the cost down.

I love US-05 yeast...if I sprinkle it on the surface of my bucket, let it sit for 15 min, mix well and then siphon to my better bottle I get krausen within 8 hours and heavy fermentation action within 12-18 hours.

I hardly ever even rehydrate anymore for a normal gravity beer.

They actually say to not make a starter with dry yeast. It can actually do more harm then good. Dry yeast packets have enough yeast cells in them to fully ferment a normal 5 gallon batch. Short of you making a barley wine, or something with an insanely high gravity like that, you are fine. If you are making a barley wine, or something similar, just buy a second packet of dry yeast. It will cost you like $6 for 2 packets. I seriously wouldn't even bother making a starter.

I'm with Jayhem on this. US-05 doesn't let me down. I pour it straight into the carboy and get the same results. I'll use it for pretty much any American style ale.

Dry yeast packets contain at least twice as many yeast cells as a liquid vial/pack. The procedure is done so that you do not need a starter and actually making one could be worse than not making one.

Also for the cost of 2 packs which would be enough for a high gravity beer you are still paying less than liquid yeast in a starter.

So there is no benefit and maybe a cost for making a starter with dry yeast.

The only thing I would do is re-hydrate the dry yeast before pitching it. I've read a couple articles saying that a certain percentage of yeast is killed by pitching it directly into the wort. It probably won't make any difference on a low or medium gravity beer, but on a higher gravity beer you'll want all the yeast you can get in there. 90*F water is supposed to be good for re-hydrating, let it sit for at least 15-20 minutes, then pitch.

kh54s10 said:

Dry yeast packets contain at least twice as many yeast cells as a liquid vial/pack. The procedure is done so that you do not need a starter and actually making one could be worse than not making one.

Also for the cost of 2 packs which would be enough for a high gravity beer you are still paying less than liquid yeast in a starter.

So there is no benefit and maybe a cost for making a starter with dry yeast.

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Silly question. But why would having too many yeast cells be bad?

mb82 said:

Silly question. But why would having too many yeast cells be bad?

Click to expand...

It isn't about having too many cells. Dry yeast also contains yeast nutrients that will get consumed in the starter. You want the yeast to have these nutrients in the wort.

That being said...over-pitching can produce off flavors (so I've heard). I've also heard that it is nearly impossible to over-pitch yeast, though.