Wyeast 1056 - Yeast Packet Popped Well Before Used - HELP!!

Hello and thanks for looking.

So, I am brewing an IPA. Unfortunately, my smack pack seemed to have gotten smashed in the fridge and popped at least a week before I pitched it. The Wyeast packet was still intact, but it was pretty obvious that the yeast bag inside had already been popped. The blow tube is bubbling like once every couple of seconds and pretty steady, but there it is definitely not the vigorous fermentation i have seen before. Should I pitch another pack of yeast? Wait and See? Anyone who has had experience with this or some input, I would appreciate it.

It has been about five days since I pitched it and it is still bubbling. About 3" of krausen on top, but nothing has come out of the blow tube like it usually does.

Help and advice appreciated.

Thanks.

Ryan
Gilbert, AZ

If it's still chugging along and has 3" krausen everything is fine. Let the yeast do their thing. If it will make you feel better you can take a gravity reading to see how it's coming along.

Hopefully you don't have any sanitation issues from the opened yeast packet prior to pitching. But if the krausen is there and you have bubbling from your airlock, you should be fine. You may have just lost some of the yeast or some died in the 'accident' and your yeast count was a little lower when you pitched.

Hang in there and when the airlock slows you can take a gravity reading like abazin said.

Do you mean that the entire wyeast packet was wide open, or just the nutrient pouch? because the nutrient pouch doesn't affect the viability of the yeast. It just helps the yeast wake up a bit faster. The viability of the yeast is the same regardless of whether the pouch gets popped or not.

So, in short, it shouldn't matter at all.

Thanks for everyone's input. Here is the answer i got from wyeast. Gravity readings made me feel better, just not as quick and vigorous ferment as usual. Here is the answer from Wyeast:

Ryan,

It should be just fine. Take a gravity when it looks like it is slowing
down. If it is way higher than you were planning on seeing, rouse the
yeast by gently shaking the carboy. Do this a couple of times a day for
2 days to keep the yeast suspended.

Please let me know if you have questions.


Jess Caudill
Brewer/Microbiologist
Wyeast Laboratories
(541) 354-1335