Wyeast Arrives Friday...sits there for 3 days. Still fine?

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adamjackson

adamjackson

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So, I ordered some Belgian Yeast Strains from Midwest and it was delivered to the wrong house. I figure this out today when my neighbor brings over two big boxes of goodies. I had forgotten that I picked a Wyeast pouch of a Belgian strain. The bag is puffed up pretty good but the nutrient pack was never broken.

So, this might be the first time that I do a starter before pitching for two reasons. The first is that I want to have a solid starter to have a successful brew. I have received feedback before for under-pitching yeast and it has a slow start for that reason.

The second is that I want to make sure this pack is even still usable or do I have to drive 2 hours south to my LHBS to get a replacement pack. They charge $15 for these so that's why I ordered it online for $6.

----

Question is: Ever had a yeast pack sit out at 60-80 degree weather for 3 days + 4 days of shipping and still pitched it alight?
 
You should generally use a starter with your Wyeast smack packs anyway. Make your starter, and I'm going to bet you'll be fine.
 
adamjackson said:
So, I ordered some Belgian Yeast Strains from Midwest and it was delivered to the wrong house. I figure this out today when my neighbor brings over two big boxes of goodies. I had forgotten that I picked a Wyeast pouch of a Belgian strain. The bag is puffed up pretty good but the nutrient pack was never broken.

So, this might be the first time that I do a starter before pitching for two reasons. The first is that I want to have a solid starter to have a successful brew. I have received feedback before for under-pitching yeast and it has a slow start for that reason.

The second is that I want to make sure this pack is even still usable or do I have to drive 2 hours south to my LHBS to get a replacement pack. They charge $15 for these so that's why I ordered it online for $6.

----

Question is: Ever had a yeast pack sit out at 60-80 degree weather for 3 days + 4 days of shipping and still pitched it alight?
Click to expand...

The yeast will be fine, they are just active, just make a starter. Assuming a bigger beer with a Belgian strain you would need a starter anyway, go to either Mr. Malty or yeastcalc.com for what you size you need. iMO and many others, all liquid yeast should get a starter.
 
Pitched yeast yesterday so I'm now at the 24 hour mark. Looks like zero anything happening in my starter.

eOPve.jpg


So I guess the yeast was bad?
 
my wyeast just sat 4 days .smacked the pack last Saterday and it came around .yesterday, took 4 days
 
Shucks... to bad...

I guess if you had know "WHERE IT WAS" for that time...

I would have thought in an Air Conditioned house it would have been fine...

I always have some dry yeast around when I brew just in case my Smack-Packs look weak... Ture I have brewed some beers with the totally wrong "yeast" but Nottingham seems pretty useable in a lot of situations if you just want a nice clean ALE...

Ya not in your case where you were shoooting for that Belgian... but it is always important to "Save the Ales!" especally when you have just spent hours mashing, cleaning, boiling, and cooling your wort.
 
You using plastic wrap over the ehrlenmeyer flask? Loosely right? Those yeasts need 02 to get going.

That doesn't bode well though :(

Ordering yeast online in the Summer is a bit of a crapshoot no matter, but it's been hot as hell in most of the country recently so that's double jeapordy.
 
I still would give it some time - at least another day or two. Shake it up every time you walk by.
 
I would take that Saran wrap off the top and allow some O2 in there and shake it up! Then place a piece of sanitized foil loosely over the top and keep shaking it every time you walk by it, no O2 means no yeast grows
 
Hey guys. So, I just decided to leave this one be. I put it in the starter glass thing pictured above with the top off and just left it there for a week in my beer closet / cellar at 60 Degrees.

On day 10, I noticed when I swirled it a lot of carbonation was created. guess it came alive! Once again, us n00bs just need to relax. The yeast was very weak no doubt. I'd say the wyeast pack was very damaged from the hot sun for that whole weekend but I pitched it on Wednesday into a beer and it came alive within 8 hours and krausen started developing. Fastest time I've seen activity in a beer. I'd say things are just fine and glad I let that yeast wait and just see how it went. First time I've done a starter before. I'd bet with how weak the yeast was, pitching directly would have taken a LONG time to come alive.
 
adamjackson said:
Hey guys. So, I just decided to leave this one be. I put it in the starter glass thing pictured above with the top off and just left it there for a week in my beer closet / cellar at 60 Degrees.

On day 10, I noticed when I swirled it a lot of carbonation was created. guess it came alive! Once again, us n00bs just need to relax. The yeast was very weak no doubt. I'd say the wyeast pack was very damaged from the hot sun for that whole weekend but I pitched it on Wednesday into a beer and it came alive within 8 hours and krausen started developing. Fastest time I've seen activity in a beer. I'd say things are just fine and glad I let that yeast wait and just see how it went. First time I've done a starter before. I'd bet with how weak the yeast was, pitching directly would have taken a LONG time to come alive.
Click to expand...

It's probably fine, but I would not have left the starter for a week without at least a loose piece of sanitized foil over the top to keep out the fruit flies et. al.
 
jeffmeh said:
It's probably fine, but I would not have left the starter for a week without at least a loose piece of sanitized foil over the top to keep out the fruit flies et. al.
Click to expand...

I thought about this. The room I use is very clean. No standing water, completely sealed off and it's just full of beer bottles and sealed carboys with fermenting beer in them. It's a very tight room.

I was told though that I need O2 to get to the yeast which is why I removed the static cling I was using.
 
Hello, I did this same thing with that same yeast, if your yeast got hot, I would not use it, mine infected all my brewing equipment, the good news is I now make sour saison brews lol

Cheers :mug:
 

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