New in Milwaukee and already a question!

Hi everyone,

I was given a deluxe brew kit from Norther Brewer for Christmas. I was all set to start my first brew. My Wyeast pack is activated and now I realized the pot I thought was big enough isn't. I saw on Wyeast's website that if I put the pack in the refrigerator the yeast should be good when I get it back to room temperature. The quest I have is how long can it be in the refrigerator? I may not be able to get to start again until Wednesday evening. Should that be ok? Other than that I look forward to getting my first batch in and learning on this site. Thanks!

Todd

tslusar said:

Hi everyone,

I was given a deluxe brew kit from Norther Brewer for Christmas. I was all set to start my first brew. My Wyeast pack is activated and now I realized the pot I thought was big enough isn't. I saw on Wyeast's website that if I put the pack in the refrigerator the yeast should be good when I get it back to room temperature. The quest I have is how long can it be in the refrigerator? I may not be able to get to start again until Wednesday evening. Should that be ok? Other than that I look forward to getting my first batch in and learning on this site. Thanks!

Todd

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It can be in the fridge a long time! Even 6 months, but that would be pushing it. So don't worry about using it on Wednesday.

What are you making?

Thanks for the fast response. Greatly appreciated! I am starting out simple with Northern Brewer's Mild Ale. But as long as that appears to be working, I will step it up a bit fairly quickly I would guess.

tslusar said:

Thanks for the fast response. Greatly appreciated! I am starting out simple with Northern Brewer's Mild Ale. But as long as that appears to be working, I will step it up a bit fairly quickly I would guess.

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Oh, I love mild! That's sort of a lost beer style, and I'm a big fan of it. There was a microbrewery in Minneapolis (Surly) that had a mild on tap and it reminded me of all of the reasons I love mild. A good mild is the best!

Welcome from down by Kenosha.
As others have said, you should be fine with your yeast.
All the activator does is "wake up" the yeast, some times I've used the packs without the activator "working" (breaking).
A mild is a "small" beer, so the yeast will do their thing, no prob, without the "wake up".
Just shake the package really well, after you bring it up to ferment temp, before you pitch.

Quick update... Wednesday was brew evening. Everything went just as planned and 3 hours after starting we were done. Woke up the next morning to nothing happening, but by the time we got home from work the yeast had kicked in.

Welcome to this little corner of insanity we kindly call "brewing!" Glad to hear that you first brew is bubbling merrily away! Go, Yeast, Go!

glenn514

Sorry for the lack of updates. We did bottle the batch tonight, seems like all is well with it. I guess time will tell.

Welcome from over by Cudahy!

You'll love Northern Brewer. The folks over there are great.

Welcome to the wonderful world of homebrewing in the BIG W!!! It's addicting and fun. Patience is definately a virtue in brewing, which leads me to...

tslusar said:

Sorry for the lack of updates. We did bottle the batch tonight, seems like all is well with it. I guess time will tell.

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You might have rushed the bottling a little. You want those little yeasty beasties to completely finish their work before bottling. Some brewers do 2 weeks in a primary fermenter and 2 weeks in secondary fermenter before bottling, other do 4 weeks in a primary fermenter before bottling. Either way it comes down to waiting until the gavity stabilizes and activity stops, which you may have done (if so, disregard).

Hope the brew tastes awesome!!

It appears all went well. We popped open the first 4 bottles last night and it was really good! Can't wait to start the next batch.

Awesome!!! You're hooked now.