Survival of the Fittest or Mass Murder??

I too live in an area where there isn't a homebrew shop to be found for miles and miles and miles (2hr drive). So as a newbie, I was forced to order online. Last week Monday I ordered my first beer kit from Northern Brewer (extra pale ale) and had it 2-day delivered to mi casa. Despite the homebrew shop desert I live in, I am fortunate enough to be able to dash home from work for a quick minute to put my yeasty friends in the fridge upon their arrival. Wednesday I tracked the UPS package online all day and watched in horror as it sat on the truck in 96* heat, "out for delivery"...
It arrived at my doorstep at 6:30pm. When I ripped open the envelope containing the smack pack of yeast and "insurance" (cold pack), well there wasnt anything cool about it. Both the smack pack AND cold pack were HOT to the touch. CRUD.
I had two choices...go for it and hope that survival of the fittest occured in the smack pack.
OR, assume mass murder, blow off brewing over the long weekend (I work two jobs and this past weekend was a prime opportunity to brew), get more yeast, and pick another weekend to brew.
I consider myself an optimist and went for the former.
I smacked the pack Saturday a.m. (it inflated about 1/2") brewed Saturday pm and all went very well minus the slight scorching of the malt syrup. Newbie.
36+hrs thus far and no visible signs of activity. I fully expected a slow start as I am sure the heat had to have killed some of the yeast. I have read many threads about the 24-72 hrs guideline and am fully aware that just because the airlock isnt bubbling, doesnt mean the beer isnt fermenting.
This situation may be slightly different with the known heat stroke.
My game plan is to leave it be and wait until Tuesday pm, take a quick hydrometer reading and add more yeast (overnight express!!) if I dont see anything happening...as long as the beer doesnt look and smell like it has been infected. Which I am not 100% sure of those signs...
Any better ideas? I am a total newbie.
AND, thoughts on a yeast bank?? I just read that somewhere. Any threads someone could recommend? It wont cool down here until, like December and the UPS game I played last week wasnt exactly fun!!!!

I'm pretty sure your beer will be fine. I remember when I made my first batch of apfelwein it took like a week before there were any visible signs of anything. In fact it was so stalled it didn't even do anything until I swirled it around a bit and voila the next morning it was bubbling away.

The point is just because you think your beer is ruined, or the yeast are dead, everything is likely just fine. I'm not sure what type of beer you were doing or what yeast it called for but if I were you I'd order a few safale yeast packs s-05, s-04, and so on and keep them in the fridge in case of an emergency. The are about 2 bucks each and ferment as good or better than any liquid yeast anyway. Plus all you have to do is sprinkle the dry stuff right on the wort and let it go.

I wouldn't even open the fermenter for at least 5 days or so. Just because you don't see anything happening doesn't mean it's not happening. Like the say RDWHAHB!

I bought yeast from Texas last winter. Who knows how hot it was there sitting in a truck, but then it gets shipped to my home at minus 20. So probably sees 100 F to -20F over the two week shipping period.

And it still was ok to use. Just make a starter first to make sure it takes off. I always have S05 on standby in case.

I know your pain. Living in the South is definitely not great for getting liquid yeast sent via UPS, especially during the summer months. You're probably gonna hafta do like most everyone else in the Southern US and pitch with dry yeast during the summer. Or if you already have some slants or slurries from prior batches then use them. Like you, I usually wait until mid winter and order a few select liquid strains and have them shipped via UPS.

I'll ditto the dry yeast, it is much more likely to survive hot weather shipping than liquid. You can brew most beer styles with a selection of 4-5 dry yeasts, which can be stored in your fridge for years. Learning the yeast bank is certainly a good move as is salvaging yeast from bottled conditioned beers. Both of those approaches require the use of starters, but making a starter only takes a few minutes, 2-3 days before you want to pitch.

Next time you order, I'd suggest getting a couple packs of dry yeast to keep around, just in case. There's a lot of different strains available in dry yeast these days. You still have more yeast to choose from then with liquid yeast. Personally, I'd rather use a less then perfect yeast strain, then call off brewday altogether, or deal with a fermentation that didn't start. I also have used dry yeast for just about everything, and have been pleased with the results.

+ 1 on spare yeast in the fridge. I've got 7 different strains in my fridge right now; just be sure to cycle them out. You might order several strains next time & order in the autumn or spring when temps aren't so extreme & get enough to last you till the next seasonal order. Just my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

Yeah, I live in Phoenix.. and without thinking, I ordered 3 packs of WL yeast online last week. Took 3 days of heat from Texas to Phoenix... and it was 110 here when I got it. Figured it was dead, so I grabbed some from the LHBS just in case. Made a starter, which was slow to take off... but ended up working just fine.

Yeastieas are resilient little bastards, they will more than likely be fine. As stated though the higher temps probably lowered your viable cell count.

I would have thought the cold pack would have stayed cool for 2 days plus. I have never had yeast shipped to me though so I'm dumb.

If i was to have yeast shipped, I would order dry yeast. I usually use dry yeast anyway. I had a couple bad experiences with the smack packs. I always make a starter too.

I must be a fortunate one. I have 3 LHBSs that I can stop at on my way home from work. Brew and Grow, Midwest and Northern. The only problem is that they don't open until 10 am and I get off work at 8 am, so I have to dilly dally around for awhile til they open, but it's worth it.

Make a starter and you should be fine even if some of the yeast has died.

+1 on making a starter from that smack pack before pitching
+1 on having dry yeast on hand (I have 5 strains hanging out in the fridge)

+1 You will likley be fine, as long as some survived, it will be a slow start, but still make beer.

Whenever you have yeast shipped in the summer it can be hit or miss with the temps. Having some dry yeast on hand is a good practice. You will most likely be fine as it has been stated above.

Shameless plug: Our store is located in GA, which ships ground to SC in 1-2 days.