Some Newb Questions

Hey all! I just got my brewing and ingredient kit and I'm ready to go. I have a few questions:

I'm worried about the viability of my White Labs liquid yeast. I had it shipped in an icepack, but the shipping took a few extra days and the vials arrived room temperature and cloudy. I read that c02 bubbles will form after I let it warm up. My ingredient kit (it's a Belgian Wit) also came with dry yeast. If the c02 bubbles don't form when shaking the liquid yeast, Can I use both the dry yeast and the liquid yeast as an extra precaution, or will this be a yeast overdose?

Everything else seems pretty straight forward. I'm about to pop in the DVD which came with my kit, from MidWest Supplies. I read in my How to Brew by Palmer that brewing is 80% sanitation, so I am going to make sure I get everything good with my NoRinse sanitizer.

Another question I have it about fermenting my Red Lager. Can I put the fermenter and carboy outside at the end of October when the temperate will be cold instead of using a refrigerator? I don't have access to a secondary refrigerator.

Thanks for any replies in advance! Any newb tips or pointers are greatly appreciated.

Yeast is harder to kill than that.

Outside lagering? Why not. It will work fine, but temp fluctuations are never good.

Well, I've been drinkin' a bit tonight, so I'm not going to attempt to answer all your questions. But I will say that trying to ferment a lager outdoors is not a good idea, you want to ferment it at a stable temp. The outside temp will swing too much on a day-to-day basis (too warm in the day, too cool at night).

EDIT: well, like cheezydemon said, you could try it...

Welcome to the forum.
Your yeast should be fine, but you should make a starter if you're using liquid yeast.
I personally wouldn't like to brew outside, as there is about a 12F difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures, and the temperatures can be very unpredictable. (Temperature variations can create havoc with fermentation.)
See http://www.weather.com/outlook/home.../graph/11101?from=tenDay_bottomnav_undeclared.
If you do decide to brew outside, make sure you cover the brew to shield it from the light (unless you like skunk flavored beer).

-a.

Like ajf said, if you make a starter not only will you be able to pitch a proper amount of yeast, but you'll also know for sure whether or not the yeast is viable.

Here's a thread to help you with that:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/how-make-yeast-starter-pictorial-76101/

Thanks for the replies fellas. The yeast starter looks like a good idea. To my knowledge my brew kit did not come with any DME (dry malt extract?)... only liquid malt and specialty grains. For the yeast starter, can I use half a cup of my liquid stuff?

What's the deal with dry yeast? Do you just throw it into your wort after it cools?

Buy some dme... Dry malt extract... And mark a starter. 2 litters of water per pound of dme is close enough to right for a 1.040 starter. Shake the stater every time you think about it to aerate.

Not sure why the kit had dry and liquid yeast... I guess the LHBS sold you extra yeast. If you use a starter you do not need dried yeast.

When I order from Midwest sometimes they'll send the dry yeast also even when you choose the liquid option. I assume they forget to pull the dry one from the kit when you upgrade.

Cats.
That sounds a bit high.
I think 3 oz dme per qt water.
1 qt water to 3 oz dme with a vial of liquid yeast should give you about the right amount.

Hmmm, seems like the starter is out of the question for me because my kit did not come with DME, only LME.

I think I'm going to try using both the dry yeast and the liquid yeast to ensure enough yeast. I wonder how it is going to taste. Anyone ever try that before?

Yeah I asked that question recently and got responses of NOT to use dry and liquid at the same time in the same wort.
If you use 3.5 oz of LME with 1 qt of water for a starter and let it go about 24 hrs that should work fine.
Or you could use a pack of dry and be done with it.
1 pack of dry is plenty.

Ok cool - I'll give it a shot.

Generally speaking, your starter is completely separate from your recipe. Most people decant the liquid off the yeast in their starter and only add the yeast. As others have said, if you just use dry yeast it's not a problem, but if you have a LHBS it would be worth buying a few pounds of DME for starters. You can store DME for a long time if you keep it dry and airtight.