PM and dry yeast

[doubleb]

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who contributes to this site. Its a great place to talk to and learn from others with the same love of beer. I have learned a lot here. I've got a PM MLT setup because of HBT.

I used 4 lbs and 10 oz of grain for my first PM. I did a 60 min mash in my 3 gal cooler It started at 158* and ended at 152* after the hour. I ended up with about 2 gallons of wort which I ended up adding a gallon for 3 gal pre-boil. My OG reading came to 1.046 while the target was 1.045.

Also, I used safale s-04 instead of the activator packs I had been using. I switched because its cheaper, more pitchable yeast, and more shippable. It took off in less than 12 hours. Don't know how less cause I was sleeping.

swmbo did not think it would be an easy experience with the cooler (modified w/ braid and ball valve), but it turned out stress free. anxious for the results.

The s-04 got really goey when I pitched it. It was blobbing up. It was noticably different than the Montrachet I used for Edworts Apfelwein. I felt like I was gonna have to call Ghost Busters. Is that normal?

 

[srm775]

The s-04 got really goey when I pitched it. It was blobbing up. It was noticably different than the Montrachet I used for Edworts Apfelwein. I felt like I was gonna have to call Ghost Busters. Is that normal?

Yeah, I think so. From everything I've read about S-04, that's about right. And, I just brewed a hoppy Pale Ale and used S-04 and noticed the same thing. Fermented out real nice and makes a thick, hard yeast cake ... easy for racking to secondary.

 

[malkore]

Here are the directions for rehydrating Saf-yeast directly from their website. I highly recommend following them as it activates your yeast and you can have fermentation in as little as 2 hours.

"Rehydrate using either sterile water or wort at a ratio of 10 times the weight of yeast to be used. Mix gently to form a cream and allow to stand for 15-30 minutes. Then mix vigorously and stand for a further 30 minutes prior to pitching into the wort. The temperature of re-hydration is important (27C ± 3C for Safbrew and Safale, 23C ± 3C for Saflager)."

http://www.fermentis.com/FO/EN/06-Ales/40-10_directions_hb.asp


ps I am not a fan of 'sprinkling on top'...I like to see my yeast wake up so I know its viable.

 

[doubleb]

My ferment finished somewhere between 28 and 36 hours. I'm very pleased with the s-04 so far.

With those directions from the saf-yeast site I've come up with three options of rehydrating the stuff. You can use the sterile water, the wort your boiling, or an second small wort just for the yeast to chew on.

If you were going to use the boiling wort, it would take a while to cool so laddling enough from the wort with about 30 minutes of boil left makes sense to me. This would give you time to gently swirl it until the boil is over. Once the wort is cooling you could get vigorous with it like the directions say.

What have you done Malkore? You say you heghly recommend the directions so I assume you've got some fermentations off quite quickly.