what temp should wort be when adding dry yeast?

Doing a Sierra Nevada clone, cooled down my 3 gallons of wort to 80 degrees, added 2 gallons of luke warm water to primary and poured in wort to aerate. Then I sprinkled in the dry yeast (SafAle US-05) and stirred. This is what the directions said to do, but they didn't specify what the wort temp should be. Will this work ok and what temp is best for just sprinkling in dry yeast without hydrating it? Thanks

80 degrees is too warm. You will not hurt the yeast, but you will get a lot of off flavors. Probably very fruity flavors and maybe buttery flavors. Temperature control during the early part (including the moment you pitch) is one of the most important factors in brewing good beer.

Different yeast strains have different temperature ranges. Luckily you have a yeast with a higher temp tolerance (59-75). You would shoot for the upper end if you wanted more flavors from the yeast (fruity, maybe banana), and the lower end if you wanted a clean beer. A good rule of thumb for most strains of yeast is the mid sixties, but you should look up the temperature range for each strain you are using. Also, after the majority of fermentation is complete, you can let the temperature rise without a problem (in fact it is good practice to make sure the yeast finish the job).

Also somebody please correct me if I'm wrong (I don't work with dry yeast very much), but you don't want to stir it into the wort. Just pour or sprinkle it in.

Lastly, even though the directions say to just sprinkle it in, rehydrating is best for the yeast. This is not necessary, but more yeast will live if you do it. Just make sure to keep everything sanitary.
To rehydrate:
Bring yeast packet to room temp
Boil water for 10 min
Allow to cool to 100 deg (between 95-110)
sprinkle in the yeast
allow to sit for 15 min
stir
let that sit for a minute
stir again
allow to cool to within 15 deg. of your wort
then pitch

Ideally this beer should probably be fermenting at around 65-68 degrees. A good pitching practice is to pitch a bit colder and allow to self rise to desired fermentation temp.

As far as dry yeast, rehydrate first is a good practice to get into. Stirring it in is perfectly fine as you want a well aerated wort to start. The extra O2,is what gets the yeast going so they can start fermenting your beer.

duboman said:

Ideally this beer should probably be fermenting at around 65-68 degrees. A good pitching practice is to pitch a bit colder and allow to self rise to desired fermentation temp.

As far as dry yeast, rehydrate first is a good practice to get into. Stirring it in is perfectly fine as you want a well aerated wort to start. The extra O2,is what gets the yeast going so they can start fermenting your beer.

Click to expand...

Ok makes sense...

Thanks for the feedback, I'm guessing I was around 70 degrees when I added the yeast because the top-off water was cooler than the wort.

While you are cooling your wort to at or just-below fermentation temperature, rehydrate your yeast as described above. Then, add a small amount of the cooled wort to your rehydrated yeast. Stir it in and wait a couple minutes (you are trying to make sure you don't put the yeast into heat-shock, so don't rush this, lower the temp incrementally by a few degrees with each wort addition). Repeat until your yeast is within 10-15*F of your wort. Then pitch.

Pitching the yeast dry can kill half of the yeast cells. Rehydrating in water that is the same temperature as your chilled wort can have the same effect. Dry yeast needs water to help rebuild cell walls before being added to the wort, and they do really well in warm water (generally 95-105*F, but you can also check with the manufacturer as some yeast strains will do better rehydrating at different temps).

Clavechkin said:

Doing a Sierra Nevada clone, cooled down my 3 gallons of wort to 80 degrees, added 2 gallons of luke warm water to primary and poured in wort to aerate. Then I sprinkled in the dry yeast (SafAle US-05) and stirred. This is what the directions said to do, but they didn't specify what the wort temp should be. Will this work ok and what temp is best for just sprinkling in dry yeast without hydrating it? Thanks

Click to expand...

I actually just took at a shot at a SN Pale Ale Clone. I had to pitch my starter at around 80 degrees as well only because my wife was screaming at me to get inside for dinner and it was getting really dark out. I was using WLP001 though. Not sure how it will turn out, it was my first beer and it was an all grain recipe so...

corpsman619 said:

I actually just took at a shot at a SN Pale Ale Clone. I had to pitch my starter at around 80 degrees as well only because my wife was screaming at me to get inside for dinner and it was getting really dark out. I was using WLP001 though. Not sure how it will turn out, it was my first beer and it was an all grain recipe so...

Click to expand...

Yeah, that can happen. Eventually she'll learn that when you brew you're GONE, and the protesting will turn into silent, sullen resentment and bitter words. It's great!

I still use an ice bath for my 5 gallon ss BK/MT & get the wort chilled down to 75F. But I use local spring water. I put 2-3 gallon jugs in the fridge a day or two before brew day to chil well. So I strain the 75F wort into the fermenter. Then pour in the cold spring water from a height to aerate a little more to recipe volume. I stir roughly for at least 3 minutes with my plastic paddle to mix the wort & top off well.
Now,while the wort chill is going on,I put 400mL of tap water in my Erlenmeir flask that's as close to 70-75F as I can get it. Pour in the dry yeast,let it sit to moisten & drop into solution. Then sanitise a skewer to stir it then cover & let it sit 30 minutes while chilling wort. After that 30 minutes is up,stir it again & let it sit 30 minutes more per a PDF I read on US-05 on Midwest site.
By the time the wort & top off are ready,the wort is usually at 64F when I swirl up the yeast to pitch AFTER taking the OG hydrometer sample. Write down the OG sample measurement,then pour sample into the flask to rinse any left over yeast hydrate into the fermenter. Works quite well,as the reproductive phase for the yeast starts sooner. Thus decreasing lag time,which is a good thing.