#6: Not acclimating your yeast fully before introducing them into the must.

Imagine that the yeast are like a child who has never swam. Hopefully your first instinct isn't to
just throw them into pool and say good luck because that could be rather shocking. The yeast can go
through a similar shock if you introduce them into your must too quickly. When you hydrate your yeast
you absolutely have to follow the steps on the package. Each yeast requires a different temperature to
be hydrated at and you should figure out what that temperature is. Many people make the mistake of
getting their water up to that specific temperature and then pulling it off the heat when the introduce the
yeast. The yeast need to sit in this water and hydrate for 20 – 30 minutes before they are fully hydrated.
This means that if you get your water up to 109 degrees and then pull it off the heat by the time the
yeast are hydrated they've been sitting in water that isn't the temperature they've needed.
I have tried to alleviate this problem by keeping the heat on a low setting and monitoring it as I
let the yeast hydrate. Try to keep the pot or pan that the water is in at the exact temperature that the
package states. Once the yeast have hydrated, and hopefully been give their nutrients,fully we now
have to worry about acclimating them. In their current state they might only have the nutrients that you
have provided to them. The must that you've created while the yeast has been hydrating is a completely
different gravity, temperature and liquid than what the yeast are used to. I suggest that you take and
slowly acclimate the yeast by adding some must to your yeast water over time. It takes a little while to
get the yeast water down to the same temperature as the must but you are helping the yeast prepare
themselves for the journey.
When you add a little must into the yeast water over time they are starting to get used to all the
sugars and nutrients that they will soon experience. They are also getting used to the temperature and
gravity change. They are truly creatures like us and need that grace period to get it all figured out.
Many people make the mistake of just throwing the yeast into the must quickly without waiting and it
can harm or freak out the yeast. When you just throw them in with no preparation they don't know what
to do it. It's like they've got in a car and went from 0 – 150 in a second and it's overwhelming. So,
acclimate the yeast and they will have an easier and more successful time as they go throughout the
fermentation process!