How to rehydrate dry yeast
Dry yeast is extremely versatile, cheap and easy to access, however without rehydration you might not be getting the most out of your yeast strain. Not only is it simple, it will ensure your beer gets the best chance of being a winner. You may be thinking, why should I bother rehydrating? Rehydrating helps to convert dry yeast to liquid yeast that is capable of handling the osmotic gradient of wort. Rehydration is especially critical for high gravity beers.
Instructions:
- Sanitise the yeast sachet and scissors with a fast acting sanitiser before opening; our preferred sanitiser is 80% ethanol.
- Sprinkle (not add and stir) the yeast on the surface of 10 times its weight in clean, sterile water at 30-35°C.
- Leave for 10 minutes with glad wrap or foil over the top of the container.
- Stir gently after 10 minutes.
- Slowly add wort to your yeast slurry until the temperature of your yeast mixture is within 5°C of pitching temperature.
- Add mixture to your fermenter and begin fermenting!
Tips for success:
- Do not use distilled or reverse osmosis water
- Do not stir right after sprinkling yeast on surface
- Do not use chlorinated water