Yeast Viability

We have a pack of Wyeast 1056 with a date of 11/26/13 on it and we want to brew this weekend 1/11/14. I ran the numbers through the MrMalty site and it looks like we might be a little yeast short since according to the calculator it's viability is down to 65%

We are brewing an APA with an OG of approx 1.055. I'm thinking rather than buying a second smack pack I might just toss in a packet of dry yeast along with it to make sure we have enough cells. Does anyone have a brand/type suggestion?

I have an extra 6 gram package of Muntons dry yeast with the BB date of 2/14/14 hanging around. Are we okay to just use that?

Thanks.

I would either A) make a starter with the liquid yeast to get your cell count up, or B) get a pack of US-05 dry yeast - it is the same strain as your liquid.

If you use the dry yeast, rehydrating it first will help ensure you have the most viable cells when you pitch.

+1 to boydster's suggestions. make a starter if you can, use US-05 if you can't.

mrmalty says that your smack-pack will only provide about a third of the cells you need. also says you need exactly 1 pack (11 grams) of dry yeast if you used only that. so you need to use 2/3 of a dry pack to make up the liquid's missing cells, or 7 grams.

On the Mr.Malty calculator under Liquid Yeast, which category do Wyeast smack packs fall (Direct Pitch Activator)?

Since that yeast is designed for one pack to be added by itself without a starter to a 5-gallon batch I'm guessing it falls under the "Vials or Packs Needed With Starter" correct? Otherwise at an OG of only 1.055 according to the calculator you would need 2 smack packs of current production date yeast.

The smack pack is like a barest minimum number of cells to be direct pitched into a 5 gallon beer that will work, but it's not what most would consider close to an adequate number of cells for a healthy fermentation. At best, it's 100 billion cells, assuming you get it straight off the production line. 5 gallons of 1.050 ale would require 175 billion cells, meaning for pretty much any ale you brew with liquid, you'll want a starter.

Sounds great thanks for the help. I will start using a starter from now on.