Bad yeast?

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brooksiepgm05

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I just finished doing a rockfish ale on saturday and used wyeast british yeast strain. It is a slap pack activator. I slapped the pack how i normally activate all yeast, the bag never expanded like it normally does. when i shake the bag, i could hear a phizzing sound like there may have been a small hole in the bag. I pitched the yeast because i had no choice since i had the wort already in the fermentor. Is the yeast bad?? I checked on the wyeast website and they say the bag should not have to expand fully, but kinda worrried about the yeast not activating. any thoughts???
 
The phizzing sound is probably the activator pack inside. sounds like you gave it a good enough smack to burst it. Its probably fine, most people will probably say you should have made a starter to be sure it was good. Either way you will soon know for sure
 
yep, the fizzing is normal. If you don't see fermentation in, oh, 72 hours, then pitch some more yeast.
 
It's fine, I smacked one 60 minutes before I used it and it didn't have a chance to expand. Beer turned out fine.
 
I made my second batch of brew (I'm a newbie) this weekend and went to pitch in the wyeast without slapping the bag to activate the yeast. Will my brew still ferment like usual? Should another bag be added if I don't see any fermentation in a couple days? Any suggestions would be helpful.
 
There is no need to smack the pack of yeast. The pack is just full of yeast nutrient and some sugars to get the yeast going prior to pitching. Smacking the pack will not make the yeast more viable, just a little more active.
 
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