New White Labs packaging?

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FireantBrewing

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What's everyone's thoughts on the new White Labs packaging? I used it for the first time the other day when creating yeast starters. At first I missed the vials but the new packaging actually works pretty well. The yeast inside doesn't seem to cake up like it did in the vials.
 
My LHBS owner stated a concern and showed me several packages of the same yeast. The packages were all swelled to differing amounts. He was wondering if some of them were active in the pouch and others dormant and what effect that has.

I guess it is the same as Wyeast who say that the amount of swelling is not a big concern in most cases.

I have not tried one but to me yeast is yeast in whatever package it comes in. It might lessen the "my yeast spewed all over the place" threads where people twist open the vial and the pressure releases suddenly.
 
I have always been a fan of storing my harvested yeast back in the vial, so part of me is sad about losing that. Otherwise, I'm still waiting to use one; my local stores have it in only a few strains which I haven't needed yet.
 
I'm concerned with it. It's double bagged essentially. You have to make sure you sterilize your scissors before opening... I shot straight across but the yeast still managed to touch the rim of the outer layer on the pour. You could lightly flame the vial,
Not a bag...

The other thing is that the bag allows for variable pressure, where the vials would maintain a pressure constant once established...

Maybe now is a good time to try out some other yeast brands ;)
 
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Just used my first PurePitch pack. I have to say I miss the preform. The double bag made it hard to see if the yeast were in suspension. Two seconds, and a careful cut, I found the outside "label" bag comes off. After shaking I poured it into the starter. The bag collapses and I found a thicker solution left in the bag. With the preform you didn't have this. And thicker liquid... I'm thinking a huge amount of yeast cells. So now I have my starter flask open to air longer squeezing what I can out of the little plastic bag. I'm not happy with my first experience so far. Lets see how the starter progresses, then I'll make a decision whether to use it again or not.
 
One thing I've noticed about the new packaging is getting all of the yeast slurry out can be a royal pain. The two times I've used the new pitch packs, I've felt like I'm leaving too much behind. The vials were easy to drain and great for saving strains. Time for me to stock up!
 
As a gluten free brewer (celiac), who decants the liquid off of my white labs vial prior to making a starter that is decanted and used to inoculate a second starter (all in the name of culturing the yeast away from its gluten containing media)...I am not happy about the switch to opaque pouches that will be dificult to decant.

Also, as others have mentioned; I like reusing the vials to store cultured yeast.

I have alway favored White labs due to their packaging, now I will be more likely to buy other brands.
 
I used it for the first time last brew. Set the package on the counter to warm up for a few hours, massaged it for a minute to mix everything up, cut it open and pitched it directly into 5 gal/1.050 wort, fermented out in 3 days. I was happy with it so far, haven't packaged it yet.
 
Just pitched WLP 001 a couple days ago out of one of these - no starter, good airlock activity within 24H. Forgot to sterilize the scissors (oops). Not a fan of the two layer packaging - like Vandalus said, bit of extra effort needed to get all of the slurry out - like the end of a tube of toothpaste. Think I prefer the old vials.
 
mikeasu said:
Just pitched WLP 001 a couple days ago out of one of these - no starter, good airlock activity within 24H. Forgot to sterilize the scissors (oops). Not a fan of the two layer packaging - like Vandalus said, bit of extra effort needed to get all of the slurry out - like the end of a tube of toothpaste. Think I prefer the old vials.
Click to expand...
This makes me feel better.Pitching this morning with no starter.Have another thread going on the same topic.Mixed reviews also
 
I do like the old vials, but I pitched a batch of the new stuff and it went fine. I'm not sure why it's hard to massage and mix up the yeast then pour and slide your fingers along the bag to squeeze it all out. Seemed pretty easy to me.
 
I checked my starter this am it looks to be ok. I've read a few comments elsewhere and one poster commented that he did a yeast cell count and it came in at 60b. But he also noted that the yeast cells were still budding. The pack was 3 weeks old. His take was that there was still food available when packaged. That would explain the need for breathable packaging. the packs must be like the Kordon breathable live aquarium fish bags that allow oxygen exchange but no water leaks. The packs may let CO2 out but contain the yeast slurry and not let anything in.

In any event now I worry about the starter and will there be enough to do my 1.090 Christmas Stout. I'm sure there will be. But will I use a PurePitch pack again? I'm sure it will depend on if I need a certain specific strain that only they carry. I find myself using dry yeast more these days with liquid yeast costing 3 bucks more than dry. Plus the shelf life of dry is so much longer. I also just had my first fail on a starter. I can't blame it on White labs as it was my fault for not looking at and paying attention to the use by dates. When I got it it was a few weeks away from expiring. It was an oddball yeast, 028 Edinburgh, and probably seldom used. Plus I ordered in advance of use so it sat a while. With little to no action I didn't want to ruin the effort of a 90 shilling Scotch Ale.

Nottingham is my go to and in my last beer orders I picked up Windsor, US-05 and S04. It's time to give dry yeast some serious use. At least with a package of Nottingham I'm sure it all has been poured quickly and efficiently!
 
I like the fact that I can squeeze the yeast out. With the vials I had to make sure I shook immediately prior to dumping the yeast, plus with certain strains I got the super yeast slurry/foam upon opening the room temperature package. I've done 8 packs of the new style packaging and like it a lot. Much much easier to ensure I get all the yeast out through squeezing versus having to use a little water to get the rest of the slurry out of the vials.

Do like. Will purchase again. A+++++++++++ product.
 
Called WL they said anything over 1.050 should be 2 packets if you don't do a starter.Seems some are using one packet in 5 gallons.I have a 1.060 Im pitching in an hour.Im on the fence if I should pitch 2 packets $18 in yeast,thats a lot of dough.If necessary I will,If It will get me to FG with no ill effect Ill pitch one..Ill see what the forum says.The packets are 5 weeks old
 
Just as a follow-up, I recently visited White Labs and did a tour and they said they are switching to the new packaging because overall it is more sterile. Before, they would grow a huge amount of yeast and package it individually in the vials. Now, they grow a huge batch and than "pinch off" individual packets with at least 100 billion (and Chris White apparently significantly over-packs the packets), making it one less transfer and risk of contamination. Just some food for thought...
 
Jayfro21 said:
Just as a follow-up, I recently visited White Labs and did a tour and they said they are switching to the new packaging because overall it is more sterile. Before, they would grow a huge amount of yeast and package it individually in the vials. Now, they grow a huge batch and than "pinch off" individual packets with at least 100 billion (and Chris White apparently significantly over-packs the packets), making it one less transfer and risk of contamination. Just some food for thought...
Click to expand...

That's what the LHBS told me as well when I bought some for my latest batch. All they had at the moment was 001 and 002, but he said the intention was to eventually make all the strains in that packaging. I like the idea in concept, but it's too early to judge the results. When I made my starter, I was able to get almost all of the yeast out in a few large blobs, but I must have been careless with my cut, and spilled some of the other liquid while opening it.
 
I've used a few of the new packs and they worked fine, but I really liked the vials, both for convenience of use and for the convenience of re-use to store reclaimed yeast. The vials were why I selected WL yeasts. I spilled a little the first couple of times with the new packs. It is more convenient and cost-effective for the vendor but less so for me.
 
I think the first time you use the new packaging, there is a learning curve as to how to mix, cut, and drain the bag. Second time around you know what to expect. I think the new packaging is much easier to mix than the old tubes.
 
I've used 3 of these packets and have been pleased with the process.

As others have stated, it's different than the vials, but isn't rocket science. I like that I can sanitize the whole pack and not worry about leaks. I also sanitize my scissors.

Before pitching I give them a good shake like a ketchup packet.

I've only made starters with these (I'm still a firm believer in creating starters for every batch of beer as my beers seem to turn out cleaner) so I wasn't worried about decanting anything. I could see how that would be difficult but in the end it's only a few extra ounces.

I welcome the change. If anyone needs some empty vials, send me some shipping money and they're all yours. I have a drawer full of them.
 
Have one of these for my next brew. The guru at my LHBS said to leave it out for a few hours and then shake the hell out of it when it's time to pitch.
 
I make a starter no matter what honestly..if its a smaller beer i usually just do a 1L starter, bigger beers get 2L or 4L starters.
 
JONNYROTTEN said:
soooo...Are you people pitching one or two packets and what the OG of your brews
Click to expand...

Before I knew better, I was pitching 1 vial for a 5 gallon batch and it took 24-48 hours for activity to show.

Now I'm brewing 3.5 gallon batches and making 1.5L starters. I usually see krausen within 4-12 hours and have enough left over to go back into the vial for the next batch. At $8 a packet/vial, stretching the yeast to 2 or more brews is an easy money saver.
 
I overgrow my starters and refill White Labs vials by harvesting from the starter. Knowing for several months that they were going to the new packaging, I saved several of the vials so I can continue to use them for this purpose.
I have no problems with their new packaging.
 
I used the new packaging for the first time this past weekend. I used two packs of WLP002 in a 4-5L starter with stir plate (per MrMalty) for a 10-gallon batch of a 1.080 OG IPA.

So far everything seems to be going along as normal.

If the new packaging provides better yeast (which is the claim), then I'm all for it. Although the vials had more of a cool factor (made me feel like a bit of a scientist), I don't really care what kind of packaging is used. I think this new packaging is actually much easier to deal with than the vials.
 
Silentnoiz said:
Although the vials had more of a cool factor (made me feel like a bit of a scientist)
Click to expand...

IMO this is why most people dont like the new packages(although they will never admit it) . Personally I am with you that if the yeast is better, who cares what the package looks like. If you need vials they are fairly cheap on amazon.
 
I pitched a new packet of WLP002 into 2.5 gallons of ESB that was measured at 14.71 Plato at 70F and chilled my wort to 63F after pitching. It showed activity within 12 hours and had a full krausen by 15 hours.

I'm all for the new packaging if it helps ensure the biological purity of the yeast. It's way cheaper to buy a a dozen glass vials then having to dump a single batch of beer due to the yeast being compromised and contaminating your batch.
 
I pitched a WLP004 this past Sunday. For me, I guess I'm a sucker for change. There is something cool to set the vial up on the shelf after every new batch. It's almost as if each one of them has a story to tell. lol

The only negative thing for me personally is i'm scared I'm not getting all the yeast from the pack, whereas with the vials, it's easy to ensure all those lil guys are poured in.

But if it gives me a better chance of making a better beer, I'll reluctantly give in to change. lol
 
Just used my first pure pitch yeast this weekend. WLP007. I liked it better than the vials because there was no spraying when I cut open the package like there is with the vials
 
kman6234 said:
Just used my first pure pitch yeast this weekend. WLP007. I liked it better than the vials because there was no spraying when I cut open the package like there is with the vials
Click to expand...

If you open the cap of the vials slightly for a few minutes, it'll release some of the pressure gradually. Put the vial in a bowl to catch anything that does drip out.
 

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