I made the switch to brew with dry yeast going forward, but I have a few cans of (unexpired) Propper Starter. Is it safe to use the cans to rehydrate dry yeast? If so, would warming up the cans to 95ºF-105ºF and putting the flask on a stir plate be necessary or beneficial?
I don’t see doing this long term, but just until I’ve used up all the Propper Starters.
I figure one 11g sachet per can.
Cheers,
Nah, it’s better to either rehydrate in plain water, or not at all. Save your Proppers for liquid yeast… you say you’ve switched to dry, as have I… for 90% of my brews… but on rare occasion I still use liquid yeast. If you’re not going to use liquid yeast ever again, maybe give away your Proppers to someone in your club or whatever who can use them.
You’re not just rehydrating the dry yeast by employing a starter. You are propagating the yeast count. Both are worthwhile outcomes.
However, it would not be a good idea to pitch the dry yeast into the concentrated Propper. Go ahead and dilute the wort to a reasonably low gravity in order to enhance the ability of the dry yeast to rehydrate. I don’t use Propper, but I typically create yeast propagation wort at around 1.035.
Even for dry yeast?
If your goal is merely to rehydrate, then isn’t this achieved simply by sprinkling the dry yeast into your main wort? (Also FYI that unless you are using a kveik strain, keeping yeast at 95+ will actually starting killing them.)
AFAIK, it’s more like 115F
I have found that simply sprinkling the dry yeast into the fermenter adds to the length of time it takes fermentation to begin because the yeast has to rehydrate before it can begin to do its work.
I have always used liquid yeast, until my last brew where I used US-05 and that batch took an additional 6 hours to rehydrate and begin to ferment over the time the identical brew took using liquid yeast.
So, from now on, I’ll hydrate for several hours in a very low SG wort before pitching.
If you’re going to rehydrate, water is recommended over wort. Also, that extra time (mine starts promptly)if it happens won’t affect the beer.
Okay – points taken
Thanks!!
Agreed!
Apparent start time is also very strain-dependent. I pitched some Belle Saison and it took off right away, with a high krausen within 12 hours; WLP860 takes a few days to have visible sign of fermentation. My first time using WLP860 dry yeast panicked me a touch - no signs of fermentation a few days in. Turns out it’s just a slow one to start…but, it’s a WONDERFUL strain, and a nice option relative to other dry yeasts.
I hear people say BRY-97 is a slow starter. I get consistent 3-6 hour starts, so either I’m different or I don’t understand other’s descriptions of a slow start.
Just curious, what physical evidence are you seeing in your beers that fermentation with dry BRY-97 has started this quickly? This seems too fast, even for a healthy liquid pitch under optimal conditions.
I use BRY-97 all the time, and ~18 hours is when I first observe physical evidence that fermentation has begun.
No doubt, the yeast are doing their thing much sooner than this, but the physical evidence that they are doing what they are supposed to do does not reveal itself until ~18 hours in.
I see airlock activity and the beginning of krausen.
I have found BRY-97 to be a fast starter, and a good beer yeast. I rehydrate in warm water with a pinch of sugar to get the yeast going.
I haven’t found a need for that. Have you tried it without?
Actually, no, but the instructions say to rehydrate, and I have found adding a pinch of sugar will start the yeast fermenting, so I get a bit of foam going so I know the yeast is still viable before I pitch it. I have been making 1-gallon batches, so I’m using small quantities of yeast, and I find the dry yeast is easier to add in small portions.
I talked to scientists at both Lallemand and Fermentis. Both told me hydration was a leftover from their wine yeast business and was not needed for beer yeast.
But if it makes me feel better, I will continue to do it.
Sure. My philosophy is to not do things that don’t matter, but we all get to decide that for ourselves.
its been a few years but i seem to recall something like a conversation with someone at lallemand, very directly where they indicated they no longer suggest rehydrating.
somewhat related - i do use dry yeast for specific things - but i never repitch it anymore. the notion is that the way it is processed/dried makes it ready to go immediately, and it does not need oxygenation either. but once used, it does not undergo the actual replication process the same way liquid yeast does, it largely just consumes the sugars with that amount of living yeast, so after this it is not exactly in a healthy state.
my personal experience reusing dry yeast on a second batch has imho borne out less than desired results.