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Author Topic: Adding water to yeast  (Read 1734 times)

Offline Pi

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Adding water to yeast
« on: August 16, 2012, 02:07:39 pm »
I got some nice healthy lager hefe from a local brewery right off the bottom. It' was real thick and foamy so my 2 liter flask has reduced to one overnight. trouble is when i go to pitch, alot of the yeast stays stuck to the inside of the flask.
I was thinking about adding some liquid to the yeast to thin it down (Water? Beer?) and putting it on a stir plate. Dont think I need to add wort as this is some pretty fresh stuff. And if I add water, does it need to be boiled coming right out of the tap? Your thoughts appreciated.
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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Adding water to yeast
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2012, 02:10:14 pm »
I think straight water would affect the yeast osmotically if left for any significant time (more that 15 or 30 minutes).  Add a little wort. The yeast doesn't need it, but it won't harm it either. Maybe some late runnings after you've stopped sparging.
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Offline Kaiser

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Re: Adding water to yeast
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2012, 03:01:59 pm »
Water and beer are good for storage. But wort is best before pitching. Especially if you want to put it on a stir plate, wort will allow the yeast to  deflocculate and you can mix them into the brewed wort much more evenly.

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Offline Pi

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Re: Adding water to yeast
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2012, 10:44:57 am »
Thanks, makes sense. I ended up adding a small amount of 1.040 wort about an hour or so before pitching. It gave the yeast just enough to make it pour-able.
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