Nervous Nellie Newbie: Using White Labs Liquid Yeast for the first time

You know, there should be a "Nervous Nellie Newbie" forum for posts like this-- posts where a newbie actually knows the answer but just wants confirmation and feedback.

So I'm using White Labs Liquid Yeast for the first time time on Saturday. Anything I should be aware of?

I understand that they fizzle and spray with quite a bit more force than one might expect so I intend to open it aimed toward the mouth of my fermenter. I guess I'll dunk it in sanitizer first just in case I either drop it into the fermenter or if it fizzles and bubbles all over the bottle. (Maybe I should be nude when I open it-- one never knows and a Newbie Nellie can't be *too* nervous...)

One thing I'm *not* worried about is making a starter. I'm making a 2-gallon batch and the yeast is good for 5-gallons and that alone makes everything alright, doesn't it? (And the yeast is well within its use-by date and my beer won't have a high o.g. and my fermentation temperature will probably be around 70 and ... well, I forget what the other worry-wort issues are but I really don't think they would apply [do I have to worry about exposure to dinosaur flatulence? There hasn't been a reported dinosaur sighting here in 65 million years but you never know...] )

I wouldn't make a starter. Try not to worry yourself sick. Its just beer after all

You'll be fine. It'll definitely give you a good spray in the face and surrounding area. Imagine a lightly shaken can of coke, but just do as you said, and open it over the fermenter, after having sanitized the vial and your hands, and then dump everything into the fermenter. Give it a good shake and blamo, you're done.

I've used a couple vials of White Labs.

You can minimize the spraying by not following the directions. Instead of waiting until it's all good and warm and shaken up to crack it open, sanitize the top and crack it open when still cool and then several times along the way as it warms and you shake it up.

Then, as further precaution, if you have a small funnel you can sanitize that then open over the funnel. However, if you let off the pressure in stages as it warms rather than all at the end, spraying will be minimized or eliminated.

SudsyPaul said:

It'll definitely give you a good spray in the face and surrounding area. Imagine a lightly shaken can of coke, ...

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I'm glad to be forewarned.

I don't want to end up like this guy.

Like a soda bottle when you open it that's about to fizz over, screw it tight again, then after a little, open it slightly, it'll fizz up again, screw it tight again. Keep doing this until when you open the cap nothing fizzes over. It worked for my last test tube

whoaru99 said:

Instead of waiting until it's all good and warm and shaken up to crack it open, sanitize the top and crack it open when still cool and then several times along the way as it warms and you shake it up.

...

if you let off the pressure in stages as it warms rather than all at the end, spraying will be minimized or eliminated.

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It won't seep out as it warms up?

Well, I guess it's not under *that* much pressure that it needs to be hermitically sealed.

This is good advice. Thank you.

Nude yeast pitching, to think I've been missing this critical step all these beers....

woozy said:

It won't seep out as it warms up?

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Don't leave it loose. Take out of fridge, crack it, let off pressure, tighten cap, let it warm a little. Repeat until it's at pitching temp.

whoaru99 said:

Don't leave it loose. Take out of fridge, crack it, let off pressure, tighten cap, let it warm a little. Repeat until it's at pitching temp.

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And only shake it at the very end when ready to pitch?

Um, is *anything* separating the yeast from its starter other then the torpor of being stored cold? (Wyeast has that silly but effective smack-pack biz so the yeast doesn't eat the starter but White Labs didn't seem to have any such separator.)

And for purposes of discussion, why shouldn't I pitch the yeast cold? It's just going to wake up in the wort anyway, won't it? (Although, of course, it won't *pour* very well cold what with being all thick and viscous and all.)

The yeast should be as close to the wort temp as possible to minimize any shock the yeast may be subjected to. When yeast are shocked they create off flavors..

tgmartin000 said:

The yeast should be as close to the wort temp as possible to minimize any shock the yeast may be subjected to. When yeast are shocked they create off flavors..

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Oh. Thank you. (Not so much a problem with dry yeast?)

---edit---

duh! Of course not a problem with dry yeast! Dry yeast isn't active until hydrated and it's hydrated at the temperature of the wort...

Warm or cold is a bit too black and white. Ideally the yeast would be at the temp of your wort for pitching so you don't shock it. +/-5F is the rule of thumb I've seen.

As far as shaking it when you start that the pressure seems to build more so I'd just go wtih a combination of the release pressure, shake a bit, release pressure, etc. until you get to the temp for pitching. I'd still be ready with the sanitized funnel and stuff though.

And, no, there is nothing separating the yeast from the liquid except settling.

That was really good advice about opening the tubes over time.

Now what can one do with left over tubes? They are so *cute* that is seems they must be good for *something*?

(Actually, why do they make them with a rounded bottom? They'd be *ten* times easier to store, carry, transport, package, use, etc. if they were flat bottomed.)

Haven't personally checked out the validity, but I read somewhere (I think here on HBT) that those White Labs vials are actually the blanks from which 2L soda bottles are made. Again, don't know if it's true or not but saw that somewhere...