Dry yeast in a starter

[mchrispen]

Perhaps a newb question.

I have not used dry yeast for a long time, 3 years or so. Always vials of liquid, and a stir plate starter for 2 liters to pitch. I just ordered from NB, and because of the heat ordered style appropriate dry packages. Order arrive, everything is stored and I plan to brew Monday. I calculated for the starter volume in BeerSmith for my total batch size, thinking I would use liquid yeast vials.

So, should I rehydrate the dry yeast, and make a starter with it? I know there should be plenty of yeast cells, after rehydration, but the liquid yeast starters have spoiled me very little fermentation lag times. Both recipes are under 1.08 og. Has anyone experimented with this? Seems like with the large cell count, a starter might only need a few hours.

Couldn't find anything on this here that directly addresses my question.

 

[hercher]

I would make a starter -- I think they are pretty much always a good idea. You could make it either the night before or perhaps the morning of your brew day, and by the time you pitch, it should be at or near high krausen.

 

[cullen]

Just to confuse things a little - I've never made a starter with dry yeast (just sprinkled it on top) and it's always worked out just fine.

 

[boo boo]

If you make a small starter with a 11 g pack of dry yeast you could harm the yeast. The yeast comes prepacked with nutrients that will be used up when making a starter causing a stress of the yeast in such a small volume of starter wort when the yeast is meant for a much larger volume.
Your results could vary of course, because a lot of people do exactly this and say their beer is fantastic.
I just pitch enough yeast and have it rehydrated properly.

 

[BobBailey]

I would definitely just rehydrate. Pitching dry yeast into wort, which includes starters, can significantly lower the viable cell count.

If the OG is over about 1.060, and you're concerned about cell count, just use 2 packs of yeast. It's cheaper than making a starter and your cell count will be more than enough. I routinely use 1 pack of US-05 in 1.065 IPAs and can't tell the difference when using 2.

A little tip on re-hydrating: After boiling about 125 ml of water, cool to 75 - 80 F. Sprinkle yeast on water and let sit for 15 minutes. Gently swirl or use a stir plate for another 15 minutes and then quickly cool to within 10 degrees of your wort and pitch. ( For 2 packs, just double the amount of water.)

Using this method, I generally see the onset of fermentation in less than 12 hours @ 62 F..

Bob

 

[mchrispen]

Thanks all for the advise. Will just rehydrate as per the instructions.

 

[suprchunk]

If the OG is over about 1.060, and you're concerned about cell count, just use 2 packs of yeast. It's cheaper than making a starter and your cell count will be more than enough.

It is not cheaper over here. Almost the same price as liquid. About five bucks after conversion for one 11g pack. I can't wait to get back stateside for the brewing side of things. The other side of things makes me not want to ever come back.