Re-hydrating your dry yeast is a way of waking up your yeast before adding it to your wort. Re-hydrating your dry yeast will ensure that you are fermenting with the highest possible amount of yeast cells. This will ferment your beer faster, and make cleaner, better tasting finished beer. In this video I'll introduce how to safely re-hydrate your yeast, then I'll give you some tips on how to ensure success.

The directions I'll be giving you are based out of the new yeast book by White and Zainasheff. They can be applied to any dry yeast, either wine or beer. Keep in mind that you need to use the highest level of cleanliness and sanitary practices from here on out.

Start off by boiling ¾ cup water on your stove. Regular tap water will work fine here. You need to boil this water for 15 minutes to sterilize it. Slowly pour ½ cup boiled water into a sanitized bowl. Sanitize a thermometer and a large piece of foil. Use the thermometer to monitor your temperature, and cover the bowl with the sanitized foil. Wait for the temp to drop to 105 F, then gently sprinkle the dry yeast on top of the water. Avoid creating clumps of yeast. Cover again with your foil, and let this sit for 15 minutes.

Carefully stir your yeast with a sanitized spoon or fork. Your yeast should now have a very thin creamy texture. You now need to carefully adjust your yeast to close to the same temperature as the wort or starter that you'll be pitching into. The best way to do this is to add cooled wort to the yeast 1 tablespoon at a time. Use your sanitized thermometer to monitor your temperatures. Once you're within 5 degrees of your wort temperature, go ahead and pitch your yeast.

Now lets review some key points that will help you succeed. First off, sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. Keep anything that will come in contact with your yeast clean and sanitized, including the bowl, thermometer, foil cover, and your spoon. Sanitize the yeast package before you open it. Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer. Close your windows while re-hydrating to prevent drafts. Don't vacuum, and try to keep pets out of your work space. Second, control your temperature. Temperatures above 105 F will kill your yeast, and colder temperatures wont effectively wake up your yeast.