Yeast smack packs

The last 2 beer kits I bought came with yeast smack packs. Before that I was making a starter. Do the smack packs work well?

I would make a starter with the smack packs, it helps lots.

Yup just take some of your wort and put in a sterlized jar and add your smackpack to it. I usually wait 1-2 hours before pitching to make sure the starter is good to go

If it's the propagator pack you have to make a starter. If it's the Activator pack, they say you don't have to but it won't hurt if you make a starter

in my experience, smack-packs are slow to start by themselves. So yes, making a starter is good.

c.n.budz said:

If it's the propagator pack you have to make a starter. If it's the Activator pack, they say you don't have to but it won't hurt if you make a starter

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first time i used an activator pack (no starter) i was actively fermenting in roughly 8 hours.

I recently did a kolsh with a wyeast activator kolsch yeast. I made a starter with 1/4lb DME and 1 pint water in a half gallon growler. I really made sure to swirl it well to oxygenate it. I didn't use an airlock but just used a sanatized foil cover. I was also worried about what I percieved to be little to no activity, but I RDWHAstorebought. When I pitched it I had lots of airlock bubbles (1 good bubble every 1-2seconds) within 4 hours of pitching.

Dextersmom said:

first time i used an activator pack (no starter) i was actively fermenting in roughly 8 hours.

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+1 on the quick start.

I just brewed up a hefe and used the wyeast 3068 Activator pack. I followed the directions, had fermentation start in less than 12hours. no starter needed.

Don't even bother smacking the smack-packs. Just toss them into your starter. So yes, make a starter.

Professor Frink said:

I would make a starter with the smack packs, it helps lots.

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Plus, if you're a cheeep bastid like me if gives you an opportunity to split the yeast out into multiple cultures for use in different batches.

I've collected much of the gear to start culturing slants, but for now I just split them up into bottles of sterile wort the way Papazian describes in JoHB.

I've used the smack packs (activator) from Wyeast on my last 3 brews and they all started fermenting in about 8-10 hours. They would probably work even better if I followed the instructions and smacked it several hours in advance of using it :cross:. I usually start my water and then remember..."dammit, forgot the yeast again!".

EDIT: never tried these in a big beer, just in my APA and Wheat...if I did any high gravity brews I would certainly make a starter.

I used a smack pack, Wyeast London ESB, last night for the first time. I thought ahead and broke the liner about 3 hours in advance and it was active. I pitched it around midnight and it was only about 7 hours later that I had to leave my house. I could see some foam forming on the top, but no bubbles yet. I'll see when I get home.

If it takes a little longer to start that's no big deal as long as it completes.

Edit: I'm home now and the beer took off at some point during the day and is bubbling like crazy.