Question about S-05

[treesmcgee]

It says on the package pitch directly into wort, does this mean I do not need to rehydrate... that cant be right?

 

[Parker36]

The only reason you need to rehydrate is to proof the yeast to make sure it is still alive. A bunch of dry yeasts don't recommend doing this because there are some nutrients packaged with it that needs to go directly into the wort. Either way, you will be fine, dry yeasts are pretty fool proof.

 

[Tenchiro]

Yep just put it in and give it a stir.

 

[bob1852]

just sprinkle that baby right on top and it will take off! No proofing needed - you're making beer, not bread

 

[Nurmey]

All dry yeast can and IMO should be rehydrated. Hydrating allows the yeast to wake up gently and gets it ready to reproduce and eat. Because of all the dissolved sugars in wort, it's harder for the yeast to hydrate in wort than it is in plain water. Activating the yeast in water gets the yeast going faster without stressing it.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

All dry yeast can and IMO should be rehydrated. Hydrating allows the yeast to wake up gently and gets it ready to reproduce and eat. Because of all the dissolved sugars in wort, it's harder for the yeast to hydrate in wort than it is in plain water. Activating the yeast in water gets the yeast going faster without stressing it.

But for a first or second time brewer with all that stress going on, I would say screw rehydration and keep it simple. Just sprinkle it in and you are golden.

 

[Nurmey]

How hard is sprinkling a packet of yeast in a cup of water and letting it sit for 15 minutes? I don't get how that is harder than sprinkling a packet of yeast in a bucket.

 

[Revvy]

Some yeasts say to..some don't, Safale doesn't say you need to...I used to rehydrate all the time, but the last couple batches of safale yeasts I just dry pitched....5.5 hours later I was greeted with this purdy site.

IIRC danstar suggests to rehydrate....Munton's too I think...but fermentis says you don't need too...it's good practice to do so...but if the package specifies it I would do it for sure...if it doesn't like with fermentis...then It's gonna be your call...

I agree that if you are doubtful about the age of your yeast then you absolutely SHOULD.. I get mine from a high turnover shop...so I know mines fresh...

 

[boo boo]

The only reason you need to rehydrate is to proof the yeast to make sure it is still alive. A bunch of dry yeasts don't recommend doing this because there are some nutrients packaged with it that needs to go directly into the wort. Either way, you will be fine, dry yeasts are pretty fool proof.

Not entirely true.

Properly rehydrating yeast is recommended because it allows the yeast cell wall to establish their normal size and functions before the yeast is pitched. Pitching into a sugar solution retards this.

 

[treesmcgee]

This is my 7th batch and my 4th AG batch and I've previously been using White Labs liquid yeast, but I decided I wanted to try out some dry yeast like I did on my first two batches, simply because they had a quick hearty fermentation. I'll probably rehydrate it just because better safe than sorry I guess. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's a fact that pitching directly into wort kills a fair share of the cells immediately. Does it matter? Maybe, depending on how much O2 is in the wort and what the OG is. A cup of 90F water is all it takes to rehydrate.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

How hard is sprinkling a packet of yeast in a cup of water and letting it sit for 15 minutes? I don't get how that is harder than sprinkling a packet of yeast in a bucket.

I know it ain't a big deal, I just remember all the panicking I was doing on my first brew. The less to worry about the better. Darn you female women with your superior non-panic genes!

 

[treesmcgee]

Yeah simply put rehydration doesnt take as much effort as is *thought* and im definitely doing it, if some say to do it, shouldnt it be good for every yeast?

 

[boo boo]

Yeah simply put rehydration doesnt take as much effort as is *thought* and im definitely doing it, if some say to do it, shouldnt it be good for every yeast?

Properly preparing your yeast before pitching is certainly one of the most important steps in making sure you have enough healthy yeast to ferment your brew fully and to get the flavour profile the yeast is supposed to provide.

 

[Moonpile]

I love S-05 and S-04, and have always just pitched them straight into the fermenter. We use a Mix-Stir to aerate, so there's always a lot of foam on there. I figure they get rehydrated in a high oxygen environment as they ride the foam down to the wort.

The only time I've had dry yeast fail was the only time I rehydrated it, and that was Lavlin EC-1118 in a batch of Apfelwein. Two days later and nothing. Pitched another pack dry and it was going in three hours. Could have just been one bad pack, I guess, and not really mean anything regarding rehydration.

 

[boo boo]

I use EC-1118 all the time in my Blueberry wine and always rehydreate. Never had any problems.

 

[mccarthy]

with safale they give you enough for 10gal so killing cells shouldn't be a big concern, but you should absolutely rehydrate for the reasons listed above. it takes no time and stress shouldn't be much of a concern.

 

[henrychinaski]

i've used sa-04 and sa-05 about ten times now. not wanting to bother with the extra step of rehydrating (whether it's considered troublesome or not, it definitely is "extra"), i've always just pitched it straight onto the wort, and it's performed outstandingly every time - quick starts and clean, complete fermentation. i pitched sa-05 on an ipa (1.078) about 5 hours ago and there's a 1/2 inch krausen and bubbling. looks good to me.
based on these results and considering that the specs. issued by fermentis say that it's o.k. as long as the temp. is above 68 and that you mix after 30 minutes, i'm going to keep on pitching dry when using safale yeast.

 

[bob1852]

So if you should proof the yeast, why do some companies say to sprinkle directly into the wort?

 

[Moonpile]

So if you should proof the yeast, why do some companies say to sprinkle directly into the wort?

I don't think that rehydrating is meant to proof the yeast, merely to reawaken it with the least possible damage to the yeast. Sprinkling it straight into the wort is fine as long as you accept that you're killing more of the yeast that way than if you rehydrate it in plain water first.

 

[john from dc]

the short version of what i've read and heard:

when freeze dried yeast are first put into a fluid (water, wort, etc.) their cell walls are permeable to just about anything. if water enters the cell, it wakes up and is ready to ferment. if sugar enters the cell, it dies.

i've heard several sources i trust say that pitching directly into the wort will instantly kill up to half the yeast cells, although i have not seen the data from which that number is obtained.

in practice a lot of people pitch directly into wort with few if any detectable downsides. even if you kill half the cells in a dry yeast packet it's still likely to take off pretty quickly. if it's been properly stored.

that being said, if all it takes to ensure you pitch enough healthy yeast is to dump a packet in a cup of warm water, it seems hard to argue against it. almost all of us have had some experience with underpitching and the frustrations it involves, why risk it?

 

[henrychinaski]

doesn't the "cup of warm water" need to be sterilized as to not introduce any unwelcome competition for the organisms on your team? this is the main reason i don't bother. if it involved just running some warm tap water and throwing the contents of the packet in there, i would definitely do it.

 

[boo boo]

doesn't the "cup of warm water" need to be sterilized as to not introduce any unwelcome competition for the organisms on your team? this is the main reason i don't bother. if it involved just running some warm tap water and throwing the contents of the packet in there, i would definitely do it.

Not hard to stick a glass in the microwave with a bit of water to boil it up and let cool down to pitching temps

 

[henrychinaski]

no, you're right there, it sure wouldn't be "hard", assuming that you have full use of all your appendages and at least the mental capacity of a typical 8-year-old, but like i said before - it is something extra that you need to pay attention to. i personally have multiple things going while i brew: cooking, yard work, reading, woodworking, etc.
i guess if i were doing something high gravity (say above 1.085), i would take the time to do it. but once again, i've had outstanding results this way with beers under 1.080, so i figure, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."