Yeast re-hydration...is it vital

[Vossy1]

Hello forum, this is my 1st question for you experts

I'm making a Brupaks Fixby Gold, 40 pinter. I usually follow instructions very carefully but fogot to rehydrate the yeast prior to addition.
I mixed the liquid very well for 5 min before the addition of the yeast using a sterilised plaster mixing paddle and electric drill.
On addition of the yeast I mixed again for 5 minutes.
It seems to be fermenting well and has a good head of frothy white bubbles on top.
There is some brown scum on top of the froth ( I know it can impart a bitterness).
I have 2 questions!

Will the lack of rehydrating the yeast have any affect on the beer?

Should the brown scum be removed?

[Road Runner]

Hi Vossy1. Wow, that's some serious wort areation. Your yeasties certainly won't be short of breath.

Rehydrating the yeast is recommended, but if you forgot, then I'm sure your brew will be fine. The idea of rehydrating the yeast is to get the little critters really active & multiplying vigourously before adding to the wort.

You want to get them active quickly & producing lots of CO2 to cover the fermenting brew as soon as possible. The CO2 forms a protective barrier against 02 (air) which can oxidize your beer.

So not rehydrating the yeast just means the critters will take a little longer to start reproducing & your brew is exposed to O2 a little longer. It's just good Brewmastership (if that's a word)

The brown scum is hop & protein debris pushed to the surface by the yeasts. You can remove this if you're careful, or leave it alone. If left alone it will sink to the bottom of the fermenter when fermentation abates. It is said that if left in the brew it can impart bitterness.

But if you are going to remove it, you have to do it ideally without exposing the surface of the wort to air. You want to keep a good head of froth on top of the brew as this protects the brew from air.

I sometimes remove it if I can be bothered, by gently dabbing my stiring paddle onto the scum & it comes away stuck on the paddle. But if you're unsure at this stage, it'll be fine left alone to sink to the bottom.

[bitter_dave]

Your beer sounds like it's doing well.

I've not rehydrated yeast on occaisions in the past and had good results, and never had an infection (at least not in my beer ) so don't worry - should turn out well

[Vossy1]

Thanks for all the help

I thought about mixing the wort by hand with a brewing paddle, however, I work in aseptic production and know how easy it is to introduce airbourne contaminants by standing directly over something and by shedding from the skin.

This is my 1st baby afterall and I'm a protective father

Introducing a sterilised plaster paddle and then pulling the lid over so only the shank of the paddle was visable seemed the best way forward.

I think I might try one of those polytunnels next time....you know, the one from the E.T movie....just to keep the bugs out

As the brew has a good head on the wort I'll try removing the brown stuff with a sterilised utensil.

DaaB...I didn't know the brown stuff wasn't soluable. I drink a lot of beer (its a dirty job , but someones got to do it ) so bitterness in an ale wasn't a major concern, as long as its not too bitter. Now, as it doesn't impart any flavour I might as well remove it.

Thanks for the warm welcome folks, its much appreciated

[mysterio]

The paddle attached to an electric drill is a great idea! I might construct something like that myself. Fancy posting a picture of it?

[Vossy1]

I like that paddle DaaB, it even matches the chrome everything in the kitchen

Not too seriously though, mines painted so I think it will have a limited life span, I will look into one of these chromed jobbies when mine bites the dust.

B4 anyone says it, I'm not too concerned about chemical leakage from the paint on the paddle due to its limited immersion in the wort

Checked my baby Fixby Gold this am and it was totally flat...no bubbles, no froth...no anything. Took a hydrometer reading (1020) and had a little taste. It was slightly carbonated and quite nice, though lacking depth of flavour which is not surprising.

Took the baby's temperature 80 deg f
I gave it a quick stir, jammed an ice pack between the bucket and the wall, now 2 hours later, loads of bubbles and a good head of froth...lurvely.

They say when you have a baby it changes your life...I totally agree

[IanRMartin]

QUOTE (Daft as a Brush @ Jul 4 2006, 08:34 AM)
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro ... 8&id=13047#
Ohhhh Shiney Shiney

[shaunmarrison]

What an excellent idea!

I'm definitely getting one of those next time I place a Screwfix order - which is about one a fortnight at the moment as I'm knocking down walls in my house. The other half wanted the bedroom finished, but I've finished my first priority first - the under stairs cupboard for my Fermenting Bin

[Vossy1]

Well the freezer block has done the trick, the baby's temperature is down to 73 deg f despite a room temp of 82 deg f.

I've had a tap fitted to my primary fermenter with an internal pipe that faces upwards to avoid the sedimant. I've also got one of those bottling aids that has the valve at the bottom so that it will fill the bottle from the bottom up.

As you may have guessed I'm going to bottle straight away. On the subject of priming would you recommend normal sugar or something else, maybe spraymalt?

Also what quantity would you use for a 500ml beer bottle? I've read 1/2 or 1 tsp per bottle, is this correct?

Time for a Bavaria beer soon its getting hot here in sunny Manchester

[IanRMartin]

Its suprising how often this priming question crops up!

Would it be worth one of the threads were it has been covered well be pinned to the top of the kit section?

Just a thought

Ian

[IanRMartin]

I know what you mean about sticky threads constantly growing!
A scuba forum i read has some sticky threads which run to 50 - 60 pages!! Which of course no one is going to read all the way though which defeats the purpose.

Like you say Daab best option would be a web page with the info and a link to it from a closed or locked sticky thread.

I am a great follower of KISS i can't stand stuff thats way more complex than it needs to be. Same with web sites everyone seams so pre-occupied with how it looks and feels to move around it and so little effort goes into the content. Jims and your web sites are simple but they are full of good content! and the effort which you put into writting and publishing them is much appreciated!

Ian

[Vossy1]

Thanks Daab, invaluable as usual

I had seen your method on other posts but was a little worried about disturbing the sediment.
I know how hard it is to mix something properly even without a sediment, but as it works for you its good enough for me. It seems a lot less fiddly than adding to each individual bottle. I assume it also negates the foaming created when beer meets priming sugar in the borttle.

Do you achieve the same level of carbonation after 1 month without priming sugar?

I'm not sure I will be able to resist the temptation for a slurp for much longer :beer

[Vossy1]

Well thanks for all the help Daab.

The Fixby Gold has now been bottled. I have primed in the bottle as I didn't have a secondary fermenter at the time...I do now.

I drank the last 1ltr from the primary as I deemed it too cloudy too bottle :rolleyes: , can't wait for the 4 weeks too elapse from what I've tasted.
Even the wife and sister liked it I'll have to doctor their next sample and make it undrinkable

Starting a brewpaks Linthwaite Lite this saturday , if I can get the smell of the Fixby out of the bucket...bleached once and bru cleans also...still smells, albeit nicely