Ingredients Arrive Tomorrow

Okay I just checked with UPS and the ingredients for my first batch will be arriving tomorrow. I'm not going to be brewing until Saturday morning, so I just want to check on how to store the stuff.

The LME can just be put on a shelf correct? Then the specialty grains can just go in a sealed plastic container (tupperware, glad, etc) and the hops and the Wyeast Activator in the fridge?

Also the activator pack said it only needs 2 hours to activate, is this correct, or should I try to "smack" the pack Friday night and leave it out until Saturday morning?

The placements sound fine.

Someone else may be able to help you with the activator pack.

You can put in fridge, smack friday night and leave out until you pitch. But better, if you have some extra DME, you can smack tomorrow and make a starter on Thursday, then pitch it on Saturday.

Good luck.

+1 on making a starter. Do it if you can.

your grain can be stored at room temp until ready to use. no more than 2 weeks because it will start to stale. the hops and yeast should be stored in the fridge. the activator pack will be ready to pitch 2-3 hours after smacking. dont smack friday night and let it sit for more than 3 hours, ive never done that so i dont know for sure that it will blow up, but i wouldnt chance it. i would smack your yeast right when youre getting ready to brew, then brew your beer and cool your wort and your yeast should be ready to pitch if youre doing a 30 minute steep and 60 minute boil. i second doing a starter with liquid yeast, but its not necessary unless you are doing a brew with a gravity higher than 1.050. itll keep it simple that way.

brewmasterpodunkarizona said:

i second doing a starter with liquid yeast, but its not necessary unless you are doing a brew with a gravity higher than 1.050. itll keep it simple that way.

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Well, assuming I hit it correctly, my OG should only be in the 1.040-1.044 region. Since I'm doing extract +specialty grains, I should be close.

+ 1 on making a starter... some of those Wyeast strains can take a while to get down to business. I'm thoroughly sold on making a starter...but if you can't I'd smack the pack at least 24 hours in advance of projected pitching time....

I often smack my Activator to make a starter, then get lazy and don't, and direct pitch it 3-4 days later with it having been at room temp. Did so for a brew this weekend and had healthy fermentation in 12 hours. If i'm definitely not making a starter I will smack the night before. If it's not swelled by the morning I can go to LHBS and get viable yeast before I brew.

Another vote for the starter if you can do it.

I just started working with liquid yeasts and I am getting much better results when I pitch a starter rather than pitching the pack in the wort. I have done both and finding the starter is well worth the 30 minutes it takes to make it!

+another on the starter. If I were brewing Saturday, I'd make my starter on Wednesday and put it in the fridge Friday night to crash-cool.

Where you store things doesn't matter that much for under a week, but if you were storing the hops for a month or more you'd want them in the freezer if possible.

Not sure of the logic behind making a starter from a Smack Pack. The Smack Pack is the starter and the whole idea of using one is so you don't need to go to the trouble of making a starter. In fact, you don't even need to activate the pack to use it, just pour it in and it will work fine. I've been using them for years, they have never failed me and I've never made a starter from one.

In answer to your original question, activating the yeast when you start brewing is fine.

Tom

Smacking them proves viability. If they don't swell, there is a chance that the yeast won't work. Sometimes, especially if older, they can take much more than the 2-3 hours to swell in my experiences, so I prefer to smack the night before.

The starter is all about cell count. Activator and Propagator smack packs have different cell counts. The propagator ones even recommend making a starter with that smack pack. I do with the activator as well usually, as it takes me about 15 mins, 7oz of DME and greatly increases the cell count.

I can't comment on Wyeast because all I have used is White Labs, I didn't make a starter for my first brew and it turned out okay, but after I found HBT and learned more about homebrewing I think it is necessary to make a starter. It is common sense with liquid yeast, I have made starters for all of my brews since and had nil lag times 3-6 hours tops. Make a starter, you'll be happy you did. It is much easier than making beer and the benefits far outweigh the disavantages (if their are any)

Thanks for all of the information! The ingredients arrived on time yesterday, and I felt just a tad nerdy getting so excited over a box of hops/grains/extract.

The only thing I forgot on my order were grain bags, so I'm going to swing by the LHBS to pick some up. Beyond that I'm 100% ready for Saturday! Thanks again to everyone!