Yeast question

[OregonNative]

Well guys,
Were in the process of brewing right now. Were bringing the water up too 170 F for the grains.

I'm a bit confused on the yeast though. Should I add the yeast once the wort has been added into the fermenter? Or do I add it before, or mix it in with the wort and pour them both into the fermenter. The recipe says stir into the wort, but I heard that can increase chances of contamination.

Also, the recipe doesn't say but is it necessary to rehydrate the yeast?

Any information is much appreciated.

 

[nostalgia]

Howdy I'm a pretty new brewer with 2 successful batches under my belt. Here's what I've learned:

After you steep your grains you'll do your boil. Add your extracts, follow the recipe instructions, etc.

After the boil is all done, you'll cool your wort down as quickly as you can - putting the boil pot in a sink full of ice water works well. You want the wort to be close to fermentation temps, around 65F.

I assume you're doing a partial boil? IOW just boiling 1 1/2 - 3 gallons of water?

If so, add 2 gallons of cold water to your fermenter before pouring the wort in and you won't have to cool the wort down quite so far, maybe to 80F or so.

Then cap and shake the bejeesus out of it to aerate the wort.

Top with water up to 5 gallons and NOW it's time to pitch your yeast.

Rehydrating is a good idea from what I've read, but not necessary.

Hope that helps,

-Joe

 

[nostalgia]

Oh and re: stirring. If you aerate the wort well, just dump the yeast in and give the fermenter a gentle little swirl around.

Remember:
Before adding yeast, oxygen good.
After adding yeast, oxygen bad.

-Joe

 

[BruDaddy]

The advice is pretty good. Only thing I'd add is that after you've topped off and shaken the wort, then you should take a sample for OG. I've mostly only ever pitched dry and have never had a problem, but to each his own. Also, I just pour yeast on top of the wort and again never had a problem.

 

[nostalgia]

The advice is pretty good. Only thing I'd add is that after you've topped off and shaken the wort, then you should take a sample for OG.

Yes! Thanks for reminding me.

And write it down!

-Joe

 

[Tankard]

Pitching the yeast is the very last thing I do. I put the wort in the fermenter, slosh it around enough to aerate it, move it to my intended location, then I pitch the yeast and put on the airlock.

Put a towel over the carboy (if that's what you are using) to keep the light out. If you are using a plastic bucket, you don't need to do anything.