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Re-hydrating Dry Yeast Bricks

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  • Re-hydrating Dry Yeast Bricks

    I would like to know what process you are following to re-hydrate your dried yeast. I currently use two bricks for one batch and I have yet to find an ideal process. I tried using my yeast brink, but that turned into a dried yeast ball disaster. Maybe I stirred it too soon.

  • #2
    just pitch it in during knock out

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    • #3
      Throw it in dry

      Originally posted by Rooh View Post
      just pitch it in during knock out
      +1 to what Rooh said. I've tried a few ways to rehydrate and all are a PITA with no verifiable improvement in fermentation. Just open the manway and sprinkle on top of wort during knock out with extreme caution; ie face mask, latex gloves, etc all sanitized.

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      • #4
        I'm gonna repeat everyone else. Sanitize everything, wear gloves, sprinkle the yeast on chilled wort. I don't even oxygenate, based on advice from Fermentis, and I have no problems with long lag times, stalled fermentation or off flavors. I even keep resealed partial bricks for use later. Hope this helps.

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        • #5
          Our SOP is to pull about 7 gallons of wort into our brink (at the temps specified on the fermentis instructions) at the beginning of KO. We then open the brink and sprinkle the yeast on top. We swirl it around off and on during the rest of KO. Usually by the end of KO, it has had at least 30-40 minutes and creates a pretty uniform slurry. We then back fill the brink from the FV and pump it all back in. We may do this a couple times to get all the residual from the sides of the brink. It works well for us. We use two bricks for our lagers and do it this way every time.
          Dave Cowie
          Three Forks Bakery & Brewing Company
          Nevada City, CA

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          • #6
            I remember reading at one point that throwing dry yeast directly in wort can kill up to half your cell count. In places I've worked we would mix 1 gallon of spring water to 1 500g brick in a sanitized brink, and allow to rehydrate for 30 minutes. Never had any issues, would get could activity at the 30 min mark.

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            • #7
              Catch 22 - the reason I'm using dry is because I don't have a brink. If I had a brink to re-hydrate in id be using liquid. (and no not corneys)
              Brewmaster, Minocqua Brewing Company
              tbriggs@minocquabrewingcompany.com
              "Your results may vary"

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              • #8
                Directly from Fermentis

                Alternatively, pitch the yeast directly in the fermentation vessel providing the temperature of the wort is above 20°C (68°F).
                Progressively sprinkle the dry yeast into the wort ensuring the yeast covers all the surface of wort available in order to avoid clumps.
                Leave for 30 minutes, then mix the wort using aeration or by wort addition.

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                • #9
                  A sterilised stainless bucket and other implements - then follow the instructions supplied religiously and chuck the activated yeast into the collected cooled wort.

                  I must admit to usually stirring a couple more times before I add to the FV, (not QUITE) as per instructions, but this avoids the faintest chance of balls, and minimises sediment when you add to the FV.

                  And as has been said, unless very high gravity brewing, no additional oxygen is normally required. If you really need to add more, then give it twelve hours before rousing to allow the yeast to use up existing oxygen requirement. Oh, yes, I found in many cases, with ales at least, half the recommended quantity works just as well - save up to 50% of your purchase costs into the bargain of course.
                  dick

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                  • #10
                    From Lallemand's perspective, we do still recommend rehydrating in most cases as there is good evidence to suggest that dry pitching into wort is a stress for the yeast. Upon rehydration, dry cell membranes undergo a transition from gel to liquid crystal phase. Viability increases with rehydration above the phase transition temperature, which is why rehydration at 30-35’C is preferable to normal fermentation temperatures of ~18’C for ales, or <12’C for lagers. Also, the cell membrane is more non-selectively permeable during the first few minutes of rehydration, so rehydrating in water instead of directly in the beer reduces the risk of absorbing toxins into the cell. This may also explain why people claim that rehydrating in wort reduces viability by 50%... viable cells tend to stain with dyes like methylene blue immediately after rehydration due to increased membrane permeability, so viability may appear lower than it actually is when using microscopy to measure viability of dry yeast samples (plating is a better method).

                    In practice though, many people achieve good fermentations by dry-pitching directly into wort without rehydration. We believe that part of the reason for this is that our production methods have improved over the years and our dry yeast is now more robust and resistant to stress. In many cases the stress of dry-pitching is not significant and the difference compared to rehydration will be small or negligible.

                    Be advised though that there may be strain-specific differences with regards to the effect of rehydrating. For example, I have seen that Diamond and Munich Classic have better attenuation when rehydrated properly, whereas New England and BRY-97 actually achieve greater attenuation when dry-pitching directly into wort. Feel free to contact me for more details about this.
                    Lallemand is a global leader in the development, production and marketing of yeast, bacteria and specialty ingredients.

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                    • bellinmi
                      bellinmi commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Would you ever recommend reyrdrating at 30-35' C using wort or is rehydrating with water the only preferred method?
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