Which yeast to add before bottling

[Osrinith]

Hi everyone,

I have a bourbon barrel porter (from Northern Brewer) that's been in secondary for 2 months. I searched the forum for posts about whether it's necessary to added fresh yeast before bottling a beer that's been sitting in secondary for a while, and the consensus is that, while not necessary, it doesn't hurt. So I'm leaning towards adding the fresh yeast, but I don't know which strain. I used the Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale for the initial brew. Should I buy another pack and toss it into the bottling barrel with the priming sugar? Should I activate the smack pack before doing that? Am I over thinking this? (The answer to the last question is almost certainly "Yes!") Thanks in advance for some nitty-gritty guidance on this subject!

 

[passedpawn]

S-04, dry yeast. Excellent for this purpose because it flocculates hard. Best to rehydrate first just to get the yeast cells into a nice slurry.

 

[dawgmatic]

definitely smack the pack if you decide to put one in. That way the yeast get a chance to reproduce to their optimal amount and get a chance to eat all those nutrients.

Or if your feeling daring you could try your hand at kraeusening
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/carbonation-kraeusen-how-9685/

But a dry yeast would work just fine

 

[Yooper]

S-04, dry yeast. Excellent for this purpose because it flocculates hard. Best to rehydrate first just to get the yeast cells into a nice slurry.

I agree. But I would say that you only need about 1/3 of a package, so no need to toss in the whole package.

What I do for my lagers is to boil the priming solution, and then put it in the bottling bucket to cool. Once cool, sprinkle 1/3 package of the dry yeast (nottingham or S04) and let sit for a minute. Stir, and then rack the beer into it. It works great!

 

[Osrinith]

S04 it is! Thanks so much for the quick replies, folks!