Is safale yeast always loose in the packet?

[GenIke]

I used US-05 for the first time on Friday. First thing I noticed is that the yeast granules were loose in the package. Is this normal? I know danstar comes in a vacuum sealed pack.

Is my loose yeast ok? So far I dont have any signs of fermentation, so my noob brain is running. You know

 

[duboman]

Yes, in fact it is sometimes powder like. Did you rehydrate it? Fermentation can take up to 72 hours to be active.

 

[GenIke]

Yes, in fact it is sometimes powder like. Did you rehydrate it? Fermentation can take up to 72 hours to be active.

Yeah, I rehydrated. I have used 1056 in my last brew and it took off like a rocket. So when this is a little behind schedule I just thought I should ask. I know the danstar package says something about the product should feel firm.

Thanks for the quick help. I'll go watch some hoops

 

[unionrdr]

I've gotten some like that. Others did seam to have some puffiness to them. All worked equally well rehydrated at 90F for 30 minutes. Then cool down to within 10 degrees ofcurrent wort temps to keep from shocking the yeast when stirred to a cream & pitched.

 

[Hammy71]

SA-05 is always loose when I get it. No biggie. And I know it's blashamey....but screw the re-hydrating. Never had a problem (I use 05 on prbably 80% of my brews and that's well over a hundred with that yeast by now) and the article in BYO basically reinforced my laziness.

 

[Vinny91]

Yes that is normal. I just used the safale us 05 is my current batch which is still in primary. I did not re-hydrate the yeast, fermentation took off in about 8 hours.

 

[jwesleyclark]

SA-05 is always loose when I get it. No biggie. And I know it's blashamey....but screw the re-hydrating. Never had a problem (I use 05 on prbably 80% of my brews and that's well over a hundred with that yeast by now) and the article in BYO basically reinforced my laziness.

I do the same and haven't had a problem. Only used SafeAle US-05 about 5 times.

 

[Ridire]

I do the same and haven't had a problem. Only used SafeAle US-05 about 5 times.

Ditto. Although a newb, both my brews so far have used SafeAle dry yeast. Both were loose in the pouch (one with S04 and one with S05). I did not re-hydrate either and both took off within 12 hours of pitching.

 

[unionrdr]

Rehydrated,I've had it take off in about 3 hours.

 

[BetterSense]

Time is important to me, almost as important as simplicity of process. i do not rehydrate. If i have a big beer where i'm worried about underpitching, i am more likely to pitch 2 packs than rehydrate

 

[Ridire]

Time is important to me, almost as important as simplicity of process. i do not rehydrate. If i have a big beer where i'm worried about underpitching, i am more likely to pitch 2 packs than rehydrate

I did that with brew #2 - OG = 1.065-ish.

 

[unionrdr]

Well,my question is,do you want to put in more effort now or more effort later? I like to do everything I can now so bottling/clean up/yeast washing day goes as quickly & easily as possible. It's kinda like the pay me now,or pay me more later bit.

 

[Ridire]

Well,my question is,do you want to put in more effort now or more effort later? I like to do everything I can now so bottling/clean up/yeast washing day goes as quickly & easily as possible. It's kinda like the pay me now,or pay me more later bit.

I don't follow. I'm not questioning you, I don't have the experience to do that, just trying to understand. How does not re-hydrating make bottle day more work?

 

[pohldogg]

There are conflicting reports that not rehydrating can reduce viability by 50%. Reduced pitching can increase fermentation time, reduce attenuation, and take longer for by products to be cleaned up. It's not that bottling actually takes longer but that bottling day gets delayed. Or you're back on the forums asking how to fix a less than ideal fermentation. Again, there are two camps here. When I use dry yeast I just boil water in the microwave and let it cool while the boil's going on. Then when I start chilling the rehyration water's at the right temp so I add the yeast. Doesn't add more time or real work to the brew day so I do it. Seems like free insurance by following manufacturer's directions.

 

[Ridire]

There are conflicting reports that not rehydrating can reduce viability by 50%. Reduced pitching can increase fermentation time, reduce attenuation, and take longer for by products to be cleaned up. It's not that bottling actually takes longer but that bottling day gets delayed. Or you're back on the forums asking how to fix a less than ideal fermentation. Again, there are two camps here. When I use dry yeast I just boil water in the microwave and let it cool while the boil's going on. Then when I start chilling the rehyration water's at the right temp so I add the yeast. Doesn't add more time or real work to the brew day so I do it. Seems like free insurance by following manufacturer's directions.

Thanks. Learning something new every day. Does increasing yeast help this, though? I pitched extra yeast because the LHBS guy said, "you can make a starter or just add another packet". I chose to spend to spend a couple dollars rather than complicate my brew day this early in the game.

 

[pohldogg]

There's an ideal pitching rate. Check out mrmalty.com for more info on that. A good rule is that for the right flavor and fermentation you want the yeast to reproduce 4 to 5 times. If you pitch very low, or use yeast with bad viability such as expired vials or un-rehydrated (if you're a believer), then the yeast will exceed this amount. If you pitch extremely high then the yeast won't reproduce at all and the flavor will be off. The only real way to overpitch is use an entire cake. This will open a new controversy because "lots" of people have used the entire cake "without a problem". I did it once and the beer tasted aweful, no character, just bland. Now that's not any type of scientific validation of overpitching, but enough of an experience to more closely follow pitching rates in the future.

 

[Ridire]

There's an ideal pitching rate. Check out mrmalty.com for more info on that. A good rule is that for the right flavor and fermentation you want the yeast to reproduce 4 to 5 times. If you pitch very low, or use yeast with bad viability such as expired vials or un-rehydrated (if you're a believer), then the yeast will exceed this amount. If you pitch extremely high then the yeast won't reproduce at all and the flavor will be off. The only real way to overpitch is use an entire cake. This will open a new controversy because "lots" of people have used the entire cake "without a problem". I did it once and the beer tasted aweful, no character, just bland. Now that's not any type of scientific validation of overpitching, but enough of an experience to more closely follow pitching rates in the future.

Again, thanks. I thought the off flavors came from yeast over-working (under pitched). Is the problem with over pitching that there is no yeast character if the yeast aren't worked hard enough? Is that a problem with IPA beers where the character comes mostly from hops?

 

[unionrdr]

It's recommenrded to rehydrate dry yeast,which only takes 30 minutes. Doing so in boiled/cooled water keeps more viable yeast cells than pitching dry. It can also reduce lag time. but you have to get the rehydrated yeast down to within 10 degrees of current wort temp not to shock them. Then you'd loose the time you'd otherwise gain. Rehydration temps are commonly 90-105F. I do it at 90F. Then cool down to wort temp,stir & pitch.
Over pitching is kinda like the animal world. Not enough food to go around,& the remaining animals are stunted & of poor health. Same with yeast.