Starter for dry yeast

[bransona]

I know, dry yeast don't need starters. They've got their own nutrients in there, etc.

Here's the reason I even bother to ask:

I have a package of Windsor ale yeast that I used half of in a porter earlier this week (12/8). I stored the yeast in a very sanitary, pretty airtight way. I've seen mixed opinions on the viability of dry yeast once it has been opened. The thought process that led me to this was basically:

1) This yeast is kinda low attenuating sometimes anyway, so more yeast won't hurt
2) If it's lost some viability, I could throw it in a starter tonight to get the numbers up, then pitch it tomorrow when I have time to brew.

I know its not a big loss if I just toss the other half of this packet, but I'm all about cost efficiency in homebrewing, so I'd really rather use it to make an English mild or something.

Any thoughts on whether I should even bother doing this? I've got lots of loose grain sugar at the bottom of my 10lb bag of 2-row that could easily be mashed in like DME.

 

[BobBailey]

Yes, you can make a starter with dry yeast, but should hydrate it before pitching into the starter. As for mashing like you would DME: you are not mashing DME because it is a product of mashed grain so has already had the starches converted to sugars.

At the price of dry yeast, it would cost you more to make a starter with it than a half packet is worth, not even counting the time and effort involved.