Pitched Dry Yeast Directly into COLD Wort....Problems???

[ScrewBrew]

I was in a hurry, my kid was screaming, and my wife was nagging. In my haste I figured I'd pitch my yeast directly onto the wort and skip rehydrating. Now I'm having second thoughts.

I made a batch of Graff which is 4 gallons apple juice and 1 gallon malty wort. I used US-05 and pitched at 67 degrees at 7:30pm last night. The house is cool and the wort has cooled to 63 degrees at 7:30am. No activity yet but I wasn't expecting any. The airlock is moving in the right direction even though the wort has cooled after 12 hours....so that is a good sign. OG was 1.060.

I just read Fermentis' spec sheet on US-05. The prefered method is to rehydrate but they say pitching directly onto the wort is fine as long as the temp is over 68 degrees.

Oooooops.

Have I stressed my yeasties too much or damaged/killed them? Or will it just chug along slowly until it warms itself up a bit and wake the drowsy yeast up all on its own?

I've been trying to get my fermentation temps into the low-mid 60's and overlooked the fact that its too cool for dry yeast to be pitched directly. Anyone have experience with a situation like this?

 

[wilserbrewer]

RDWHAHB...it will very likely be roaring by sunset this evening.

 

[ScrewBrew]

I figured. BTW, I had to look up what RDWHAHB means...and Thanks! LOL JK OMG. My yeasties usually kick off between 18-24 hours no matter if I pitch direct, rehydrate, or use a starter.

As I'm refining my methods I am trying to be much more strict on my temps and overlooked the yeast pitching aspect. I'm glad to know things will be fine.

TTYL.

 

[Ianflean]

Just made the same mistake (an IPA).

Cooled the wort to about 62/63F and pitched the yeast directly on the wort. Gave a little stir in.

Should I raise the temperature a bit?

Shiiiit.

 

[peroua15]

i always just pitch into about 60 degree wort...you will just have to wait x hours until the liquid naturally heats up and yeast start to take off. once they take off it will exponentially heat up

 

[Ianflean]

Thanks for the re-assurance.

Is my 2nd brew. 1st brew went really well, but I pitched and started fermentation (with WYEAST 1056) at about 70F, so this time I wanted to follow everyone's advice and ferment at 62. Didn't realise the US-05 packet said to pitch minimum 68F.

Fingers crossed when I wake up tomorrow it's bubbling away!

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks for the re-assurance.

Is my 2nd brew. 1st brew went really well, but I pitched and started fermentation (with WYEAST 1056) at about 70F, so this time I wanted to follow everyone's advice and ferment at 62. Didn't realise the US-05 packet said to pitch minimum 68F.

Fingers crossed when I wake up tomorrow it's bubbling away!

It's a very sound practice to pitch a few degrees cooler than your target initial ferment temp and let it rise naturally to it.

With US-05, pitching at 61-62*F and letting it start fermenting at 64-65*F is about as perfect as you can get if you want a nice, clean ale ferment. After the ferment starts to settle down, let it come on up to 68-70*F or so to finish and you'll be golden.

It'll start a little milder when you begin this way vs. pitching too warm. But remember that the goal isn't to get a fast, vigorous, visually-impressive fermentation with the airlock bubbling like mad within 24 hours of pitching. The aim is to control the pitch/ferment in a way that will help the yeast produce a nice quality beer that you'll enjoy and be proud to share with friends.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the re-assurance.

Is my 2nd brew. 1st brew went really well, but I pitched and started fermentation (with WYEAST 1056) at about 70F, so this time I wanted to follow everyone's advice and ferment at 62. Didn't realise the US-05 packet said to pitch minimum 68F.

Fingers crossed when I wake up tomorrow it's bubbling away!

If it isn't bubbling tomorrow morning, just walk away from it and forget it until the next morning. Some of my brews take 30 to 36 hours to get started but they turn out just fine.:rockin:

 

[Ianflean]

Thanks all.

It was bubbling nicely on Monday after work. Krausen created but then fell quite quickly. Is now on about a bubble every 3 seconds or so. I've kept it at about 18C so should I raise it to 19C when the bubbles get more spread out?

 

[cheezydemon3]

What you all are calling a mistake, I am calling a best practice. I cool the HELL out of my wort and pitch it on the dry yeast.

 

[bob1852]

Didn't realise the US-05 packet said to pitch minimum 68F.

Well, their liquid yeast packets also say you don't need a starter...

 

[hbtasdfg]

i would not worry at all what you did is almost optimal off by 1 degree. give it 24 more hours

 

[boydster]

I'd hesitate to say optimal, but it will certainly work to make beer. Optimal would be rehydrating in warm water then gradually cooling to pitching temp. I'm sure the beer will be good, though, and it is really easy to improve on it next time you make this recipe with very little additional time/energy.

 

[Ianflean]

When you say warm water, what temp do you mean? Sanatise a cup, fill with warm water, stir in the yeast and bring it down to 16 / 17C and then pitch? How long should it take to cool down to pitching temp? Thanks for this!

 

[BigFloyd]

Thanks all.

It was bubbling nicely on Monday after work. Krausen created but then fell quite quickly. Is now on about a bubble every 3 seconds or so. I've kept it at about 18C so should I raise it to 19C when the bubbles get more spread out?

If you're using a fridge with a digital temp controller, after the krausen falls you can just go ahead and set it to 20*C (68*F) and let the beer rise from 18*C (64*F) to that higher temp on its own.

 

[Ianflean]

Sadly not that hi-tech, but seem to be able to control the temp of the room quite well. (If the thermometer on the bucket is accurate that is.)

It's between 18 & 19C, should I try to keep it as it is for 24 hours and then try to up it a bit more?

 

[BigFloyd]

Sadly not that hi-tech, but seem to be able to control the temp of the room quite well. (If the thermometer on the bucket is accurate that is.)

It's between 18 & 19C, should I try to keep it as it is for 24 hours and then try to up it a bit more?

Sure. Just a little helps it to finish and clean up .

You're using US-05, right? If you ever use Nottingham, keep it cooler and don't exceed 19*C (beer temp).

 

[Ianflean]

Yep, I'm making an IPA (my second brew):


4kg Weyermann Bavaria Pilsner liquid extract (33 PPG / 6L) 84%
500g Muntons Plain Amber DME (43 PPG / 8L) 10%
250g Weyermann Caraamber (33 PPG / 26L) 5%

60 min Magnum 25g
15 min Simcoe 25g
10 min Mandarina Bavaria 25g
5 min Simcoe 25g
1 min Mandarina Bavaria 25g
1 min Simcoe 25g
5 days Dry Hop Mandarina Bavaria 50g

1 or 2 packets Fermentis Safale US-05


I used 1.5 packets US-05 in the end, will definitely rehydrate the yeast next time.
Does the recipe look ok to you? It smells quite nice!

Is Nottingham better for British style ales?

 

[boydster]

When you say warm water, what temp do you mean? Sanatise a cup, fill with warm water, stir in the yeast and bring it down to 16 / 17C and then pitch? How long should it take to cool down to pitching temp? Thanks for this!

Check out the Dry Yeast FAQ sticky in this section, there is a step-by-step outline quoted from Yeast. I'm on my mobile, otherwise I'd paste it right now. I usually try to pitch within 30 minutes of rehydrating.