messing around

well i was bored and in wally-mart. Ended up with 6 pounds honey, 2 oranges and 2 nectorines(sp)and a handfull of raisens. I mixed it all up in 3 gallons of water and pitched the vial of white labs sweet mead yeast. Here is the problem, I didnt notice that the yeast was expired by a year!!When i mixed the yeast it had bubbles in the tube. Is that a good sign that the yeast is good?

Relax - give it a day or two and then see if you have any signs of fermentation. If not, then pitch some fresher yeast. If the old vial was truly expired (as in dead), then you merely supplied some necessary yeast nutrient for the fresh batch that you'll pitch later. (Yeast are opportunistic cannibals - they'll eat the nitrogen from their own dead as easily as from any other source!)

wayneb said:

(Yeast are opportunistic cannibals - they'll eat the nitrogen from their own dead as easily as from any other source!)

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I prefer to think of them as eating anything they can. Most animals do.
I just like the by product! :rockin:

As far as I can find out, we can't get the White Labs liquid yeasts here. Yes, if I go across to Brouwland, in Belgium, they stock the Wyeast liquid yeast "smack packs", but they're also chilled, so I'd need a chiller box to get them back (driving + ferry/Euro Tunnel + more driving).

Are the White Labs liquid yeast vials also chilled or is it likely to be feasible to ship some from the US to the UK and still have them usable ???

i got bubbles!!!!!!!!

friarjohn said:

i got bubbles!!!!!!!!

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excellent!

I mainly have to use dry yeast but if it's out of date, I just make a starter first..