Beer Forum

Do you make a starter with dry yeast the same way you make a starter with liquid yeast (DME, stir plate)?

You don't make a starter with dry yeast.

Why not? Do I just pitch it in the wort dry or do I rehydrate it with warm water ?

Here is a safe, sanitary way to use dry yeast effectively and efficiently.

-Boil up 1 cup water for 5 min (the last 2 min. place a lid on the saucepan to sanitize)
-cool saucepan to 90-100 degrees (I typically wait till the saucepan feels warm, but not hot - remember you don't want to fry your little friends, just warm'em up a bit)
-sanitize scissors and yeast packet in starsan solution
-cut open packet and pour yeast pack into cooled cup of water (do not stir at this point)
-place lid back on saucepan and let sit for 15 min.
-after 15 min. swirl saucepan slowly with lid on to suspend and distribute yeast

VOILA!! remove lid and pour into cooled wort, aerate well and HAHB!

Good luck!
Brewinhard

Sounds good. So why don't you make a starter? Wouldn't it get the yeast more active being in DME, some o2, neutrients.

Dry yeast has all the needed nutrients added before being packaged so that is why no starter is needed. You will do more damage than good doing a starter with dry yeast.

Did anyone else read this after the last BrewingTV episode? Comments? I hate contradicting thoughts.

I hate when people post stuff like that. Absolutely no scientific evidence offered as to why you shouldn't do what the biologists and scientists who designed the yeast say to do. How does it strip them of FAN? And hot side aeration? I think I'll have more of a chance seeing than ever experiencing hot side aeration. So I should just let a bunch of barley hulls and crap go into my kettle to be boiled for 90 min.? Ugh.......

I've never, EVER had less than a ripping, awesomely clean ferment using US-05 and rehydrating exactly the same way brewinhard does. Same with my wines and cider yeasts.

Check this out....http://www.lalvinyeast.com/importance_rehydration.asp