Yeast Query

[JoeyG2001]

I'm new to the game. I bought a "Brewers Best" kit at the local homebrew store. The guy at the counter was kind of a ringer, working for the proprietor while he's on vacation. The guy welcome me with, "John's out 'til Tuesday; I don't really know anything about this stuff." So I'll ask the question here that I wasn't able to get an answer for there.

The kit had a packet of dry Nottingham yeast in it, but it was just stored with the kit at room temperature. They have the same packets, same brand (dan-something) in the fridge at the shop; it didn't make sense to me that some would be refrigerated and other of the same would be left out at room temp. So, just in case, I bought a vial of yeast from the fridge, just a generic English ale yeast (I'm making an IPA).

So, my question is, should I try the dry yeast first since that's what came with the recipe, or just pitch the other stuff to be sure?

 

[mojotele]

It doesn't really matter, but the liquid yeast will go bad long before the dry yeast. So, if you have the liquid stuff, I say use it.

And I've used the dry stuff when it was stored at room temperature before, and it worked fine. Best to always refrigerate it, though.

 

[DoctorHops]

Try the dry yeast first.

If you have any question about the dry yeast's viability you can proof it. Palmer tells how to do this in "How to Brew". You essentially rehydrate the yeast in a cup of warm water and then add a teaspoon of sugar or dry malt extract that has been dissolved in a small amount of boiled water. You should see activity fairly quickly if the yeast is good.

I also keep a couple of packs of SafAle 05 in the refrigerator to use in case of accidents or problems with yeast.

 

[JoeyG2001]

Thanks. This is only my second brew. I'm brewing in a bucket so it's hard to tell sometimes if there's activity. With the last brew (my first one), I had a very slow start, and then, for some reason, the yeast didn't finish the job. Someone told me I'd used the wrong kind for the high-sugar content beer I was making. I ended up having to pitch a batch of extra dry yeast to finish it off. The results turned out okay, but I'd like for this one to go more smoothly.