How do you smack a smack pack?

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Sumo

Sumo

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I bought my first smack pack yeast this past weekend, and Started setting up my equipment. As I went to pop the "little bag" inside I noticed it moves all over the pouch and it hard to nail down. Needless to say I thought I broke it only to open the pouch and see I had not. I cut it with sterile siccors and swished it around and dumped it into the carboy with my wort.

The yeast did its job, i have never seen such a roiling fermentation before!

But to get back to the question, how do make sure the pack inside breaks, i thought for sure that if I whacked it hard the outer bag was gonna bust. Plus that sucker rolls around, a lot. It reminded my of giving my dog his first bath and trying to keep him still.
 
Alternately, you can feel around the pack for the inner pouch. Corner it and press on it really hard. Then check the pack (feel around) to make sure it's broken.
 
bsay said:
Alternately, you can feel around the pack for the inner pouch. Corner it and press on it really hard. Then check the pack (feel around) to make sure it's broken.
Click to expand...
I second this method. After an experience like yours, I started beating the heck out of them. That is until the day that the smack pack started to leak. Now I lay it on the counter top, feel around until getting the inner pack isolated under my palm and push down really hard. You can feel and sometimes hear the inner pack break. Knead the pack to check real close that the inner pack is broken. Give the pack a good shake every now and then until it’s fully expanded.
 
bsay said:
Alternately, you can feel around the pack for the inner pouch. Corner it and press on it really hard. Then check the pack (feel around) to make sure it's broken.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is pretty much what I do. Get it cornered so it can't slip away and give it a squeeze until it pops. It seems like I have to fight with one every once in a while even now.
 
bsay said:
Alternately, you can feel around the pack for the inner pouch. Corner it and press on it really hard. Then check the pack (feel around) to make sure it's broken.
Click to expand...

there is some thought to the fact that this method really isn't that great. I used to do this until my brother-in-law was over for a brew and had me cut open the used package to see the bubble inside... Sure I has broken the inner bubble, but not by much, and had left about 1/3 of the wort in the bubble (still clear). The difference between the two is if you squeeze it, you will have a smaller opening, than if you smack it like it made a pass at your wife, it will rip the seam completely open
 
John:

+1

I noticed the same thing. Thankfully I was using a starter but I am sure my initial yeast count was low.
 
Thank you for the input. I just read a thread for a guy who whacked it good and dowsed his wife with the yeast pack.

I will try the cornering it, whacking it like it owed money approach. I haven't brew in a few days and I should start another batch of something. Its funny I brewed my first batch 3 weeks ago, and I haven't even got to taste that one yet, and I find myself driving out of my way to stop at the brew shop to get more stuff to brew. Does that go away?
 
adigeso said:
Thank you for the input. I just read a thread for a guy who whacked it good and dowsed his wife with the yeast pack.
Click to expand...

Haha, that was me. :)

I think my mistake was that I cornered the thing at the top of the bag and then hit the package directly. Because my other hand was holding the inner bag in place, there was nowhere for the liquid to go when I whacked it and it split the seam of the outer bag.

Thinking about this for awhile, it seems the best approach is to get the inner bag under the palm of one hand and then smack (flatten) that hand with your other one. That lets the inner bag pop but doesn't confine the liquid into the corner, utlimately causing wife-yeastage. ;)
 
knownikko said:
Thinking about this for awhile, it seems the best approach is to get the inner bag under the palm of one hand and then smack (flatten) that hand with your other one. That lets the inner bag pop but doesn't confine the liquid into the corner, utlimately causing wife-yeastage. ;)
Click to expand...

+1 (10 chars)
 
I corner it, but lay the pack on the counter. Also, I necessitate more of a "hammer fist" than a smack, because every time I try to smack one, it seems like the inner pack just scoots away.
 
I've never had a problem holding it in one hand and smacking it with the other. I think maybe holding it in your hand keeps the pack from moving too much as opposed to laying it on the counter. Also when you hit it think Bruce Lee....
 
adigeso said:
Plus that sucker rolls around, a lot. It reminded my of giving my dog his first bath and trying to keep him still.
Click to expand...

It gives me fits trying to keep the little blob in the corner where I can get to it. Maybe I'll use a rolling pin on it next time. That oughta trap the bugger....
 
schneemann said:
That sounds like a great way to decorate your kitchen counters with yeast! :drunk:
Click to expand...

I mean use it like a rolling pin, folks, not like a hammer. The pin would ensure a wide, even pressure that the inner capsule could not slip past without breaking.

Like using the edge of your toothbrush to squeegee the the last of the toothpaste up to the nozzle where you can get to it.
 
fratermus said:
I mean use it like a rolling pin, folks, not like a hammer. The pin would ensure a wide, even pressure that the inner capsule could not slip past without breaking.
Click to expand...

You would be better off treating it like a hammer. Using a rolling pin to roll out the inner pouch will result in the liquid forming a bubble in one end that when forced will most likely break the outer pouch. You would certainly have to be careful doing it this way.

What I do is to locate the inner packet and center it in the pouch. Place the pouch on a hard flat surface and rap the inner pouch with my knuckles.
Shake the pouch for a while and you should "hear" the pop rocket like effect when the nutrient mixes with the yeast.
 
I squish the the packet between my thumbs and fingers of both hands working from the bottom up until I find the packet. Once I've found it, I hold it in place then lay it on the counter and break it with a quick strike of the palm or side of the hand. It's easy and makes me feel like a ninja.
 
Having never seen the smack packs other than after receiving through mail order, are smack packs normally flat until activated? The one I've used was slightly swollen and trying to mash anything inside was impossible as it was smaller than the pack's inflated interior. It wasn't bulging, by any means, but it wasn't flat.

I ordered another (store didn't have the White Labs version) and it's the same way.

Rick
 
Smack packs are generally flat. If they are a little swollen then it's because they have warmed a little in shipping which caused the yeast to rouse a little but it should still be alright even without smacking the nutrient pack. The true test is making a starter with the yeast and proving viability as well as improving the cell count.
 
Doing my first brew with a smack pack this weekend. Just so I understand the process, smack it, let swell for 3ish hours, then pour into a starter of DME and water that's been boiled and let sit, right?

Basically, I'm trying to understand if making the starter and having it sit for a day or so is necessary, as that rather dictates which day I'm actually brewing. Don't want to start the boil and not be able to pitch it!

Edit: Looking at Wyeast's website FAQ, it looks like since I have a very recent pack, that I don't actually *need* the starter, which is good, as it means I can brew today, rather than trying to rush things tomorrow.
 
Hotspur said:
Basically, I'm trying to understand if making the starter and having it sit for a day or so is necessary, as that rather dictates which day I'm actually brewing. Don't want to start the boil and not be able to pitch it!
Click to expand...

A starter is always a good idea with a liquid culture, regardless of freshness.

A starter with a swollen pack pitched into it will likely not take a day to reach its peak. Yeast (bothin the pack and in the starter) has its own timeline to follow, but to keep things simple you might do something like smack the pack and boil the starter the day before. Next morning pitch into the starter. When your brewing/cooling cycle is done and you're ready to pitch, throw the starter into the wort. Done deal.

If time shaving is important to you then you may want to consider making a free/cheap stirplate setup.
 
fratermus said:
It gives me fits trying to keep the little blob in the corner where I can get to it. Maybe I'll use a rolling pin on it next time. That oughta trap the bugger....
Click to expand...


BTW, finally tried the rolling pin method. Worked great. I rolled the pin gently up the pack until the internal packet was trapped, then applied force about 45deg angle down and toward the trapped [packet]. Popped easily and immediately.

This took about 5-10 seconds of ease, instead of 2mins of cursing and chasing a slippery packet.
 
I squeezed my first use of this last weekend, I was nervous about having it splatter all over the kitchen by smacking it. It was obvious it had broken so was unconcerned.

Next time I get this I'll smack it like you guys suggested so that it's contents completely come out. :mug:
 

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