First Solo Brew

Today is my first solo try at extract brewing. I have been brewing with my dad for a couple years now and today I am going it alone. To make matters more interesting I crafted this recipe myself (well kinda, a lot of research went into hoping this will taste good.) I am trying to do an Irish Red Ale. Recipe:

6 Lbs. Gold LME
.5 Lbs. Crystal 60L
.5 Lbs. Caramel 40L
.25 Lbs. Light Roast Barely
1 oz. Fuggles (Bittering)
1 oz. Glacier (Aroma)
Wyeast ACT1084 Irish Ale

So far so good. Steeped the grains bring the water to boil. Added the LME and Bittering hops. Sanitizing my bucket now. The only problem I am running into is that I took my yeast out late (will only have an hour and a half to swell) and I am worried that that will not be enough time. Are my concerns warranted?

Thanks in advance.

I might be completely wrong but I don't think the swelling of the Wyeast bag is necessary. I think it's simply a way to indicate to the brewer that you broke the nutrient pack open and the yeast is indeed viable. I wouldn't worry about it if it were me. If you are really worried about it you could let the wort sit in a closed fermenter until you feel you have given the yeast enough time. But I think the risk of allowing an infection to take hold by delaying your pitch would out weigh any benefit from watching the smack pack expand. You could always try a no chill fermentation if you had any interest. This would significantly reduce your risk of infection while waiting for your yeast pack to expand.

Like I said, if it were me I would give it as much time as you have and pitch it as soon as the wort is at pitching temp. Below is a link supporting my advice.

Wyeast Laboratories. Activator™

Thanks. That is what I am planning on doing. I have the wort cooling with an immersion cooler right now. I would rather chance it with the yeast than an infection.

sp1365 said:

Thanks. That is what I am planning on doing. I have the wort cooling with an immersion cooler right now. I would rather chance it with the yeast than an infection.

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Just check the "use by date" on the smack pack and if it's not expired you should be fine. That is as long as your trust the shop that you bought it from. I bought a smack pack from a LHBS that I had never used before and I highly suspect it was not kept at the proper temp because it gave me a crappy fermentation that never took off. This was before I started making starters.