White Labs yeast Carbonated and smells like Champagne?! Help!

So I just added my white labs edinburg yeast to my scotch ale and when I opened the bottle it was carbonated and had a champagne smells.

Does this mean that at some point the yeast started fermenting while in the white labs container? What does this mean for my beer that I just added the yeast to?

I didnt really want to add the yeast once I opened it but it kind of exploded into the wort...

Did this ruin my batch? Do I need to buy more yeast? How long do I have to add more yeast if that is what I have to do?

I just really dont want this 40$ worth of ingredients to go to waste!

Any help would be appreciated.

Exploding yeast happens. Break the seal when first taken out of the fridge. Toss it in it will be fine

So even the champagne smells is nothing to worry about?

Nope. That liquid in there is actually "wort" and its alcoholic

Huh, I just was worried that something had gone wrong with the yeast. I had used white labs before and never had the carbonation or the smell.

Thanks for your input!

In fact, the carbonation is an assurance that the yeast is viable (or was recently, but d.o.a. vials are rare) and will do its job. If it were not fizzy - well, then there would be an issue. Some people have trouble with white labs vials and there are a few threads on the topic of their vials spewing most of the yeast in every which way except into the wort. Look it up, there are some hints and tips. $40 sounds like you're doing a 3 or a 5 gallon batch...things should still go according to plan, even if you didn't put the whole vial in the wort, and assuming that the wort temp was hospitable (~70F). Next time try to put the entire vial in!

As far as the aroma of the vial - well, personally I really enjoy smelling the fresh cultures when I open them. It's really a beautiful thing, they are all unique. I kind of figure that that is what the yeast will contribute to the aroma and flavor of your finished beer IF you treat it very well.

loftybrewer said:

As far as the aroma of the vial - well, personally I really enjoy smelling the fresh cultures when I open them. It's really a beautiful thing, they are all unique.

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Ya, I love that smell.

Yeah don't go by the smell straight from the vial sometimes it is just plain rank.