Yeast viability question?

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Dan_F_30

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Hey,
I bought my brewing supplies for a brew day tomorrow 7 days ago. I just found my vial of WLP 001 in the bag. So it was out at RT for 1 week. It is now in the fridge but will it be ok or should I buy another vial? Thanks yeast friends!
 
I'm gonna go ahead and assume that 1 vial is probably underpitching for the beer you're brewing (unless it's a small batch and/or super low gravity) even if it hadn't been out at room temp a week, and it's a little late to have a starter going for tomorrow. So I'd say either pick up 2 vials (or more depending on what you're brewing), or save yourself the money, postpone brewing a week, and build up a starter from the vial you've got.
 
Making a starter 3-4 days before now would have been better. Then it would have been left out for only a few days. The sooner you start pitching the correct amount of yeast cells the sooner you'll get even better beer. It's just one of the [easy and cheap] things you can do to get far better beer.
 
I couldnt agree with this guys more.....I just did my first starter last week for a Hefeweizen...and it was simple and the fermentation took off!

At least for now pitch (2) vials......cause it is to late to test viability before your brew tomorrow...better to spend the extra $6-$8 on extra yeast than to have an issue with a full batch
 
Use Mr. Malty to find out how many vials you need for the batch size and OG. Then get that many (or as close as you can). Be sure to put in the yeast production date (for White Labs, that's 4 months prior to the date on the vial).
 
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Pretty much useless since we have no idea where that is. Simple town, state format would be fine. Hell, even knowing what state you're in would have helped.

70 - 74 degrees. 5 gallon batch

Also, not enough info... Estimated OG of the batch planned?? Go to the Mr. Malty site and enter the info there. Then you'll know what you need to get for additional yeast.
 
Thanks guys. No time to make a starter although I'll do that next time. White labs vials have worked well for me with 5 g batches before. I will probably just go buy another vial to be safe....
 
If you pick up two vials and pitch all 3, you'll be set. 1 new vial plus your diminished current vial is probably still underpitching. 2 96% viable vials would be good, but that yeast needs to be FRESH. If it's been sitting at the LHBS more than a few days to a week, it'll be a lot less than that. And even if you get a vial that is that fresh, it won't be enough with the one you already have.
 
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