US-05 Questions

[Moody_Copperpot]

I know there are a lot of posts about it, but just a few quick questions.
It can handle pretty high abv, correct? The beer I'll be brewing this week is looking to have an OG of 1.072, so it's not crazy high. US-05 can handle this, right?
As for rehydrating, what volume of water do you guys use for an 11.5g packet of it?
Walk me through the process if you would.

 

[Pappers_]

Hi Moody. Yes, 1.072 will be fine for US-05. As for rehydrating, you don't have to be too careful - I just take a small bowl, fill it with room temperature water, add the yeast and cover it. This isn't like bread making where you 'proof' the yeast (wake the yeast up and get them working) - its really just rehydrating the yeast, all you have to do is add water that's not too hot or too cold.

Make sure your yeast is at room temperature, too, if you store it in the fridge.

 

[Moody_Copperpot]

Hi Moody. Yes, 1.072 will be fine for US-05. As for rehydrating, you don't have to be too careful - I just take a small bowl, fill it with room temperature water, add the yeast and cover it. This isn't like bread making where you 'proof' the yeast (wake the yeast up and get them working) - its really just rehydrating the yeast, all you have to do is add water that's not too hot or too cold.

Make sure your yeast is at room temperature, too, if you store it in the fridge.

Awesome, so there isn't a specific amount of water I need to use? Is 8oz good? Stir after 15 min or anything?

 

[Pappers_]

Awesome, so there isn't a specific amount of water I need to use? Is 8oz good? Stir after 15 min or anything?

I'm sure there is a recommended amount, but I don't know what it is and don't measure it - I take an old cereal bowl and fill it half way with water - it would be no more than 6 ounces, I guestimate. I don't stir at all, just sprinkle the yeast into the water, cover it, and walk away.

I'm sure others are more precise in their rehydration regime.

 

[kryolla]

4 oz for 11.5 grams is what I use

 

[samc]

10x H20 vs yeast is the recommended amount from what I recall. Which is pretty darn close to kryolla's 4 oz. So I'd say we are both on the same path.

 

[Moody_Copperpot]

Great, 4oz it is! You guys all just let it sit, or do you stir it at all? On the Safale site it recommends stiring it gently for 30 min after it's been rehydrating for 30 min...I don't own a stir plate, so this isn't really an option, haha.

 

[pcollins]

I rehydrate and then just before I pitch I do stir it. I don't go nuts but I just stir it so it's a nice smooth slurry as opposed to clumps. Just think about when you mash in, you want everything to get hydrated so there are no dry clumps. Same with the yeast.

 

[logdrum]

"Rehydrate the dry yeast into yeast cream by sprinkling it in 10 times its
own weight of sterile water or wort. Gently stir and leave for 30 minutes.
Finally, pitch the resultant cream into the fermentation vessel."

-from the Fermentis "tips & tricks" pdf

so you needn't stir constantly. I've only used 05 dry once-with excellent results!-and I simply spinkled the dry package over my aerated wort. I did harvest the yeast cake & pitched a slurry Saturday, which took off like crazy. Best of luck.

-d

 

[Moody_Copperpot]

Thanks guys! I don't have any of the equipment to aerate my wort, so it looks like rehyrdating it is!
Unless there is another way of aerating that I don't know about...

 

[logdrum]

I use a 24" french whip (from a restaurant supply house) that cost $5.00. I sanitize it then beat like crazy for a count of at least 100. You can also just shake the heck out of your barrel/carboy. No special equipment required.

-d

 

[midfielder5]

I pour back n forth between two sanitized buckets. Did this three times recently and had 6+ inches of foam (good) in my bucket!
Add rehydrated yeast, shake or stir, close lid, and bang... heavy CO2 coming out of my blowoff tube in less than 8 hours.

 

[weirdboy]

Rehydrating is not a substitute for not aerating the wort prior to pitching.

 

[Eddiebosox]

make sure the water youre rehydrating with is sanitzed (ie: boiled and cooled).

 

[Teacher]

Assuming the yeast isn't past it's expiration date, there's no need to aerate prior to pitching dried yeast. Aeration simply gives the yeast what they need to multiply; once oxygen runs out, they stop multiplying but continue fermentation. Dried yeast already contains numbers far above what the vast majority of recipes call for.

 

[jbrookeiv]

I just pitch my yeast dry, never had an issue. I pitch it, let it sit on the surface of the wort for a few minutes, then stir well to aerate. My fermentation generally starts within 12-24hrs max.

 

[TheMan]

...just read the directions on the packet. I believe it says "Sprinkle into Wort". No rehydrating is needed.

 

[Eddiebosox]

From everything I’ve read you don’t have to rehydrate dried yeast, but it can help, and since it’s such an easy and quick process it’s kind of a no brainer. The upside is I believe just dropping dry yeast into your wort can kill up to 40 percent of your yeast right there since, according to Palmer, the high sugar in wort makes it harder for them to draw water across their membranes and restart their metabolism. Granted even with 40% dead its still more than enough to properly ferment.

 

[TheMan]

Rehydrating basically just tells you if your yeast are viable. I see it as a "do you primary only or secondary" type of topic lol. All personal preference, and I don't think anyone's method is wrong or right.

 

[JonK331]

Thanks guys! I don't have any of the equipment to aerate my wort, so it looks like rehyrdating it is!
Unless there is another way of aerating that I don't know about...

Rehydrating is not a replacement for aeration. Your should aerate your wort whether you rehydrate or not, two totally different issues. You can pour the wort back and forth between two containers, pour it into the fermenter through a strainer, beat with a wisk, splash the wort as your pour into fermenter, use an O2 tank and carb stone (best method IMO), or use an air pump and aeration stone. There are many, many ways to aerate and it is an important step.

BTW - I don't measure the water to hydrate either, just sanitize everything and use about a pint or so for two packets, more or less water doesn't hurt anything, you are just getting the stuff wet.

 

[Moody_Copperpot]

Ah okay, I've seen all kinds of special equipment out there...but now that I'm thinking of it, it's all oxygenating equipiment. I will definitely stir the crap outta the wort before adding the yeast. Thanks guys!

 

[kryolla]

If you dont rehydrate you loose half the yeast according to Jamil and Chris White

Whether to aerate or not from the link below

"I always aerate my wort when using liquid yeast. Do I need to aerate the wort before pitching dry yeast?

No, there is no need to aerate the wort but it does not harm the yeast either. During its aerobic production, dry yeast accumulates sufficient amounts of unsaturated fatty acids and sterols to produce enough biomass in the first stage of fermentation. The only reason to aerate the wort when using wet yeast is to provide the yeast with oxygen so that it can produce sterols and unsaturated fatty acids which are important parts of the cell membrane and therefore essential for biomass production.

If the slurry from dry yeast fermentation is re-pitched from one batch of beer to another, the wort has to be aerated as with any liquid yeast."


http://www.danstaryeast.com/frequently-asked-questions

 

[JonK331]

No, there is no need to aerate the wort but it does not harm the yeast either. During its aerobic production, dry yeast accumulates sufficient amounts of unsaturated fatty acids and sterols to produce enough biomass in the first stage of fermentation. The only reason to aerate the wort when using wet yeast is to provide the yeast with oxygen so that it can produce sterols and unsaturated fatty acids which are important parts of the cell membrane and therefore essential for biomass production.

So this is one of those sticky arguments. I tend to believe that you ALWAYS want some yeast reproduction during the aerobic phase to produce new healthy yeast cells and to get enough population to efficiently ferment. However, with dry yeast, especially when pitching multiple packets (as in overpitching), there may be no need for reproduction due to pitching so much yeast in the first place. This goes back to the classic over vs under pitching arguments of which there are many on here. I'm sure someone has done experiments along these lines as well. Basically, you want to be somewhere in the middle, with some reproduction, so aeration/oxygenation IS an important step. Most professional breweries incorporate some form of oxygenation in their process.

 

[2wide]

I think the need for re-hydration sort of depends on specific gravity of the wort.

If you want to get fancy, you can use a product called "Go Ferm" added to the re-hydration water. This supposedly infuses needed nutrients into the yeast to get them in fighting trim. I've used Go Ferm with good success. But some say heating it along with the re-hydration water destroys its nutrients. But I also wonder how sterile the Go Ferm is straight from the package?

Whatever you do, do NOT re-hydrate in distilled water. Water containing zero solids can over inflate and burst the little yeasties.

Aeration--yes! If a large percentage of your dry yeast is non-viable, the remainder will do better with O2 .

 

[Moody_Copperpot]

Well I stirred the wort up for a few min before pitching the yeast, so it was nice and aerated. Put the US-05 in 4oz sanitized water for probably an hour totally. I sprinkled it in, let it sit for about 30 min, then gently stirred it and let it sit for a bit longer while I transferred into the primary.

 

[JonK331]

I think the need for re-hydration sort of depends on specific gravity of the wort.

If you want to get fancy, you can use a product called "Go Ferm" added to the re-hydration water. This supposedly infuses needed nutrients into the yeast to get them in fighting trim. I've used Go Ferm with good success. But some say heating it along with the re-hydration water destroys its nutrients. But I also wonder how sterile the Go Ferm is straight from the package?

Whatever you do, do NOT re-hydrate in distilled water. Water containing zero solids can over inflate and burst the little yeasties.

Aeration--yes! If a large percentage of your dry yeast is non-viable, the remainder will do better with O2 .

So rehydrating is NOT the same as making a starter, all you are doing is getting the yeast wet with water instead of wort over a period of 15-20 minutes. Nutrients and aeration of the yeast cream are not going to have any effect.

 

[2wide]

So rehydrating is NOT the same as making a starter, all you are doing is getting the yeast wet with water instead of wort over a period of 15-20 minutes. Nutrients and aeration of the yeast cream are not going to have any effect.

Right on--rehydrating and making starters are different processes. Dry yeast manufacturers no longer recommend adding fermentables like sugar (not the same thing as nutrients) to the water. Go Ferm is specially formulated to help the rehydrating yeast prepare for fermentation, whereas most yeast nutrients work in the fermenting wort. But any sterile water with adequate trace amounts of minerals is fine.

Some brewers add sugar to the re-hydration water and apparently with success. I would rather go with manufacturer's recommendations and just use sterile water or water plus something like Go Ferm.

 

[Moody_Copperpot]

I brewed a batch using a 7g packet of Cooper's not too long ago. It was all that was left for dry yeast at the store I went to. I was worried about the fact that the packet was only 7g. The brewmaster for a local brewery recommended that I dissolve 1/2 cup on sugar in some water via boiling, cool it to room temp, and add the yeast. I let it sit for about 20 min, gave it a swirl and let it sit for another 40 min. The results were actually good.