Rehydrate Dry Yeast Issue

[cbarriere19283]

Hi all,

I just brewed a batch of 1gallon NB Smashing Pumpkin Ale and decided to try and rehydrate my dry yeast rather than just pitching (first time trying this).

I boiled water, added 4 ounces to sanitized measuring cup, let cool to just below 105F then sprinkled in yeast. Waited 15 minutes then stirred, waited another 5-10 and stirred again. Once I had a nice cream I poured 2 ounces worth of yeast cream into my cooled wort.

12 hours later, I see no movement in my carboy, and nothing coming through the blowoff. I also see a bunch of "stuff" settled on the bottom of the carboy at least 2 inches thick. Not sure if that is the sugars from the wort that were never fermented by the yeast? I've attached a picture of the results... Any tips or advice is more than appreciated!


Chris

 

[boydster]

Patience. 12 hours is still reasonable for lag time. Make sure you have the temperature in range for your yeast and give it more time.

 

[flars]

Hi all,

I just brewed a batch of 1gallon NB Smashing Pumpkin Ale and decided to try and rehydrate my dry yeast rather than just pitching (first time trying this).

I boiled water, added 4 ounces to sanitized measuring cup, let cool to just below 105F then sprinkled in yeast. Waited 15 minutes then stirred, waited another 5-10 and stirred again. Once I had a nice cream I poured 2 ounces worth of yeast cream into my cooled wort.

12 hours later, I see no movement in my carboy, and nothing coming through the blowoff. I also see a bunch of "stuff" settled on the bottom of the carboy at least 2 inches thick. Not sure if that is the sugars from the wort that were never fermented by the yeast? I've attached a picture of the results... Any tips or advice is more than appreciated!


Chris

Why did you try to rehydrate the yeast at 105°? For instruction on how to handle yeast go to the manufacturers site. Books sometimes have outdated opinions.

What was the temperature of the wort when you pitched?

Twelve hours is not a long time for fermentation to begin. Begin worrying after two days.

 

[cbarriere19283]

Hi Flars,

I used the Northern Brewer rehydrate tutorial ()

when I pitched the rehydrated yeast into the wort, the wort was cooled to 60F and the yeast cream was close to that temp as well

 

[flars]

Hi Flars,

I used the Northern Brewer rehydrate tutorial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL92Bd4kfbQ)

when I pitched the rehydrated yeast into the wort, the wort was cooled to 60F and the yeast cream was close to that temp as well

Okay. The spec sheet from Fermentis for SA-05 says + or - 6°F of 80°F. Good wort temperature for pitching.

 

[cbarriere19283]

That definitely seems more reliable. Do you think I might have killed all my yeast cells with the high temperature water? I'm starting to see some bubbly activity (not much) at the top of my carboy so I'm hoping I might be okay!

 

[boydster]

You didn't kill it, it was just a bit of a warm start.

 

[Adam_Selene]

Just pour the yeast into the primary next time-- then introduce the wort down on top. At 68 F, rather than 100 F. Wort is mostly water, so there is the rehydration. It's full of nutrient already.

--Adam Selene

 

[boydster]

Just pour the yeast into the primary next time-- then introduce the wort down on top. At 68 F, rather than 100 F. Wort is mostly water, so there is the rehydration. It's full of nutrient already.

--Adam Selene

This will kill about half of the yeast.

 

[Adam_Selene]

This will kill about half of the yeast.

No, it wont.

--Adam Selene

 

[boydster]

Well, empirical evidence is on my side. What evidence do you have?

 

[ianw58]

No, it wont.

--Adam Selene

Yes. It will.

"As expected, cell viability was much higher in yeast rehydrated in water rather than in wort. "

http://bkyeast.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/more-on-yeast-rehydration/

Can dry yeast be pitched directly on wort? Yes, it can.

Is it detrimental to the yeast? Yes. It is. This practice severely affects the viability of the yeast so pitched.

 

[kh54s10]

Back to the OP 105 is a bit high for rehydrating. But should not be a big problem. 12 hours is early, and 60 degrees wort temp is pretty low. I bet in another 6 hours or so everything will be going fine. I can't comment on the large amount of sediment without knowing what went into the fermenter.

 

[cheddarhed3]

I also did a dry yeast rehydration for the first time last night with my NB SMASH Ale kit. Almost 24 hrs and absolutely no activity. Did it per "How to Brew" instructions. Thinking it may just take a bit longer as suggested earlier in the post. But if it doesn't, any suggestions on how to kick start it or is the batch a lost cause.


Sent from my iPhone using Magic and deception.

 

[helibrewer]

Hi all,

I just brewed a batch of 1gallon NB Smashing Pumpkin Ale and decided to try and rehydrate my dry yeast rather than just pitching (first time trying this).

I boiled water, added 4 ounces to sanitized measuring cup, let cool to just below 105F then sprinkled in yeast. Waited 15 minutes then stirred, waited another 5-10 and stirred again. Once I had a nice cream I poured 2 ounces worth of yeast cream into my cooled wort.

12 hours later, I see no movement in my carboy, and nothing coming through the blowoff. I also see a bunch of "stuff" settled on the bottom of the carboy at least 2 inches thick. Not sure if that is the sugars from the wort that were never fermented by the yeast? I've attached a picture of the results... Any tips or advice is more than appreciated!


Chris

You'll be fine. I rehydrate my wine yeast by adding yeast nutrient to 110F tap water, when it cools to 104F I add the yeast. Wait 15-20 minutes then temper with about 100 mls of wort every 15 minutes until the wort and yeast are within about 10F of each other...then pitch.

 

[Adam_Selene]

Well, empirical evidence is on my side. What evidence do you have?

Anecdotal evidence. Thousands of examples.

I'm not going to get in an argumant with you. Ten other people will jump on my back and then the thread will get locked.

--Adam Selene

 

[max384]

Anecdotal evidence. Thousands of examples.

I'm not going to get in an argumant with you. Ten other people will jump on my back and then the thread will get locked.

--Adam Selene

Thousands of examples of anecdotal evidence where their beer still fermented after pitching dry yeast directly into the wort? Or thousands of examples of anecdotal evidence where they actually counted their yeast and confirmed that half of the yeast did not die? This distinction is important, since you're claiming that half of the yeast do not die if pitched directly into the wort dry; nobody here claimed that the yeast won't still make beer if pitched directly.

 

[Adam_Selene]

Yes. It will.

"As expected, cell viability was much higher in yeast rehydrated in water rather than in wort. "

http://bkyeast.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/more-on-yeast-rehydration/

Can dry yeast be pitched directly on wort? Yes, it can.

Is it detrimental to the yeast? Yes. It is. This practice severely affects the viability of the yeast so pitched.

See my above post. I'm not going into this again. I'm doing the *state my case-- then move on* thing, as was suggested to me. I'll reiterate what I have already said in another thread if asked.

--Adam Selene.

 

[Croyzen]

I've rehydrated at about that temperature before with Nottingham that had the rehydration temp of (86F I believe) right on the back of the packet! Caught it after I pitched it (within 5 degrees of wort) and was paranoid. It did take off a little slower than I was used to but the next evening it was going fine. Never trust a third party's instructions. Always check with the source... And look at the back of the packet!

 

[Adam_Selene]

Thousands of examples of anecdotal evidence where their beer still fermented after pitching dry yeast directly into the wort? Or thousands of examples of anecdotal evidence where they actually counted their yeast and confirmed that half of the yeast did not die? This distinction is important, since you're claiming that half of the yeast do not die if pitched directly into the wort dry; nobody here claimed that the yeast won't still make beer if pitched directly.

I have hundreds of examples of people killing most if not all of their yeast by screwing up rehydration. We can talk about that if you want.

The "half dead" thing wasn't introduced by me.

--Adam Selene

 

[jrgtr42]

I always rehydrated my yeast when I used dry.
I would boil water (or better still, grab a cup or so of wort around halfway through the boil)
then tightly cover with foil and throw in the freezer. Get it to around 80 or so, then add the yeast.
By the time I was done cooling my wort (which at the time was the old fashioned water / ice bath method) I would usually have the start of krausen going on in there.
Since I;ve been using liquid yeast, I've been making at starter 36 or so hours before pitch.
a cup of DME in a quart of water, boil 15 minutes with a quarter teaspoon of nutrient, cool that down, and toss in an old growler with an airlock. I've never not had noticeable action in the fermenter the next morning over a dozen or more batches using this.

 

[max384]

I have hundreds of examples of people killing most if not all of their yeast by screwing up rehydration. We can talk about that if you want.

The "half dead" thing wasn't introduced by me.

--Adam Selene

Nice red herring and complete avoidance of responding to my post. The statement that you purported to be untrue was that "This [adding dry yeast directly to wort] will kill about half of the yeast." Whether or not people commonly screw up rehydration is irrelevant.

 

[max384]

I always rehydrated my yeast when I used dry.
I would boil water (or better still, grab a cup or so of wort around halfway through the boil)
then tightly cover with foil and throw in the freezer. Get it to around 80 or so, then add the yeast.
By the time I was done cooling my wort (which at the time was the old fashioned water / ice bath method) I would usually have the start of krausen going on in there.
Since I;ve been using liquid yeast, I've been making at starter 36 or so hours before pitch.
a cup of DME in a quart of water, boil 15 minutes with a quarter teaspoon of nutrient, cool that down, and toss in an old growler with an airlock. I've never not had noticeable action in the fermenter the next morning over a dozen or more batches using this.

The whole point of rehydrating yeast is to avoid dumping them directly into sugary wort. By "rehydrating" with wort, you're doing just this.

 

[Adam_Selene]

Nice red herring and complete avoidance of responding to my post. The statement that you purported to be untrue was that "This [adding dry yeast directly to wort] will kill about half of the yeast." Whether or not people commonly screw up rehydration is irrelevant.

Ok. What fraction of the yeast will it kill?

--Adam Selene

 

[boydster]

Ok. What fraction of the yeast will it kill?

--Adam Selene

You seem really combative about something that's been tested time and time again. Adding dry yeast directly to wort without first hydrating in water will kill roughly half the cells. As a fraction, it is 1/2. As a percentage it is 50%. What am I missing as far as your reasoning that this isn't the case? Clayton Cone, Chris White, Jamil Zainasheff, Sean Terrill, and many more have all tested and backed up the 50% figure. If you are saying they are all wrong, the burden of proof is on you. And I'm all ears; I'd love to learn something new about the resilience of dry yeast today.

 

[max384]

Ok. What fraction of the yeast will it kill?

--Adam Selene

??

I quite sure this was already covered. Are you just stamping your feet and being argumentative at this point?

Obviously the 50% is an average. I'm sure sometimes more are killed, sometimes less. As far as I knew, the only debate was whether or not it really mattered if half the yeast cells died, since beer is still made either way.