Help - Yeast question

Brewing my first beer....

I tested the yeast by adding a sugar solution and it came alive...but now that I've finished the boils and am close to being ready to pitch, the yeast has stopped growing as much as it's covered by saran wrap, as directed.

Do I need to add another sugar solution to get it moving before I pitch it, or can it go as is?


Thanks!

No, just pitch it.

Was it dried yeast?

Yeah it was in a packet. Added it to water and then added the sugar solution and covered it with wrap. It busted out of the wrap an hour ago and has sense come back down. I'll be ready to pitch in an hour or two and wondering if I need to re-add a sugar solution or not.

Thanks!

You don't want to add sugar to the water. You want to rehydrate the yeast, not feed it. If you add more sugar, it'll get the yeast conditioned to sucrose- and the sugar in wort is maltose. Just rehydrate according to the directions, (my yeast always has specific rehydrating instructions) and then pitch.

Yooper Chick said:

You don't want to add sugar to the water. You want to rehydrate the yeast, not feed it. If you add more sugar, it'll get the yeast conditioned to sucrose- and the sugar in wort is maltose. Just rehydrate according to the directions, (my yeast always has specific rehydrating instructions) and then pitch.

Click to expand...

No directions on packet.

Guys am I good to pitch as is or do you have to pitch when it is fully activated?

Go ahead and toss it when when your wort is cooled down to around 70 degrees. That's it!

Yooper Chick said:

You don't want to add sugar to the water. You want to rehydrate the yeast, not feed it. If you add more sugar, it'll get the yeast conditioned to sucrose- and the sugar in wort is maltose. Just rehydrate according to the directions, (my yeast always has specific rehydrating instructions) and then pitch.

Click to expand...

The problem isn't conditioning the yeast to sugar; the problem is that sugar/glucose solutions contain no vitamins and minerals - the yeast can feed but is forced to undergo it's lifecycle without access to the substances it needs. Hardly surprising that it doesn't tend to breed very heathily. By contrast, wort contains all the substances yeast needs (though adding a little extra in high gravity beers can't hurt).

Your both right. Yooper Chick is correct about sucrose. It is a much easier sugar to metabolize and yeast can become conditioned to do so and then ignore other sugars leaving you with a stuck fermentation.