Beer Forum

When using a dry yeast pack can I just make a starter for it, or should I rehydrate it first then make a starter out of that. Sorry if this was discussed before.

Dry Yeast does not need a starter. If you have 11g of yeast it is best to rehydrate in luke warm water then pitch into well oxygenated wort.

Trying to build a starter would be useless, for this many cells the starter wort volume would be close to a 19L batch.

EDIT --- I recently read that oxygenation of the wort is not required as the yeast already has the reserves it needs to begin fermentation, as long as the pitching rate is correct. 11g in up to 23L. ---

Boil 1 cup of water for 5 minutes with the lid on the saucer for the last 2 min. or so to sanitize. Cool the saucer down till it's warm to the touch, sanitize your yeast packet and scissors, and carefully pour the yeast in the saucer putting the lid back on when done. Do not swirl. Let yeast rehydrate for 15 min., then gently swirl with lid on, and pitch yeast into fermenter. Voila!

Good advice!

Thanks all

Dry yeast you only need to rehydrate. Boil a couple cups of water let cool to 80 degrees and add the dry yeast. Dry yeast will take off like crazy. if it is a big beer use a blow off tube instead of a air lock. Trust me I know.

Think about it this way, dry yeast has between 15 and 20 billion cells per gram. With an 11g sachet, you should have somewhere near 200 billion cells. One smack pack or WL vial has about 100 billion cells and should inoculate an average ale on its own. For most beers, one sachet is way more yeast than you need let alone adding in the starter factor. In fact, they say that if you add it to a starter you are wasting the glycogen reserves that the mfgr had worked so hard to build up. By the proper amount of dry yeast and pitch (after rehydrating). Now, if you are way overpitching, maybe don't rehydrate so you actually kill off some of the cells?!?
With liquid yeast, it is much more susceptible to being weak, old, poorly treated so it makes more sense to "wake them up" in a starter. Plus you don't have that sweet glycogen reserve. At least, that is what the pope has said.