hey guys, ive been having a heck of a time with yeast on my first brew...i accidently killed the dry yeast doing a starter, so i didnt have yeast to put in the wort...so my wort is in the primary, and i bought more dry yeast today. i pitched it directly in the wort about 1 hour ago, and gently rolled/shook the carboy to thoroughly mix it. should this be fine? did i do it right?
yeast question
- Thread starter abs2003
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Monk
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it should be fine. What kind of dry yeast was it? Nottingham and Safale US 56 are both really nice strains that are super easy to use. As you did, you just pitch them on top of cooled wort, as far as I know. I've used both like that and they worked great. Good luck.
monk
monk
How do you know you killed the yeast? Did you boil it, or add it to wort that was too hot?
You are sort of supposed to rehydrate the dry yeast in some lukewarm water before pitching it. This is because the dry yeast pellets (taking this from Good Eat's show on bread making and I don't see why it doesn't apply to beer yeast) have a layer of dead yeast that surrounds the live yeast. Rehydrating frees the live yeast to do what it wants to do, eat sugars.
Your beer should be fine though. I didn't even know that I was supposed to rehydrate yeast when I made my first brew (a cider with lots of extra table sugar). I just poured the packet of dry yeast into the apple juice and stirred. It took 3 days to get going, partially because of this and partially because of the high starting gravity.
Just curious, where in Iowa are you?
You are sort of supposed to rehydrate the dry yeast in some lukewarm water before pitching it. This is because the dry yeast pellets (taking this from Good Eat's show on bread making and I don't see why it doesn't apply to beer yeast) have a layer of dead yeast that surrounds the live yeast. Rehydrating frees the live yeast to do what it wants to do, eat sugars.
Your beer should be fine though. I didn't even know that I was supposed to rehydrate yeast when I made my first brew (a cider with lots of extra table sugar). I just poured the packet of dry yeast into the apple juice and stirred. It took 3 days to get going, partially because of this and partially because of the high starting gravity.
Just curious, where in Iowa are you?
Ah... Ames... A good town, I lived 3 blocks from Jack Trice for 9 months. I could do without that football team they have there though, but the Hawks will beat them this year. 
(I'm an Iowa undergrad alum/current grad student.)
But best of wishes on the beer, thats something that we can all get behind.
(I'm an Iowa undergrad alum/current grad student.)But best of wishes on the beer, thats something that we can all get behind.
abs2003 said:
You should be fine. BTW, there is no reason to make a starter when using dry yeast. The cell count is high enough already and you may do more harm than good. Some would argue that re-hydrating isn't necessary either. I have done it both ways, re-hydrating and just pitching it, without any noticeable difference.
When I switched to using liquid yeast, properly aerating, and making 2000 ml starters, that is when I really noticed a difference in the quality of my beers.
John
mysterio
Well-Known Member
I don't make a rehydrate or make a starter for dried yeast.
Seveneer
Well-Known Member
I have always used dry yeast (20 years) and have never used a starter. Just toss it in your wort. You'll be fine.
Well, its been less than 24 hrs since I pitched it straight in my wort...there's already a little party goin on in there...just a slight head around the edges, and foam beginning to show on the top...woohoo!
