Yeast life question

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bgrayson726

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So I've brewed a few times over the last 6 months. However, I haven't made a mistake like this yet. I was planning on brewing one night so I activated my Belgian Witbier Wyeast (3944). Something came up and I was unable to brew that night.. or the next. It has been sitting on my kitchen counter at about 65-70 degrees for about a week now. The pouch is inflated and has been for a while.

My question is, is the yeast usable or should I just toss this and go grab another bag? Also, if something like this happens in the future, is there a way to maintain the yeast?

Thanks in advance
 
i usually use a starter with smackpacks anyways- i would recomend tossing your smackpack into a small 500ml-1000ml starter and see if it kicks off, and then pitch from there.
 
Thanks for the reply. What sort of starter are you talking about and how do I determine if it kicks off? I usually just pitch my yeast right from the bag
 
search for "making a starter" on the forums

Edit: here it is:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/how-make-yeast-starter-pictorial-76101/

Basically you make a small amount of wort with a half cup or so of extract into 2 cups of boiled water shooting for a gravity of around 1.040 and you add your yeast to this first. This allows the yeast to multiply to ensure you have a large pitching number. Also if your case it will allow you to see if your yeast are still viable (alive) before pitching to 5 gallons.
Starters are tricky you can look for a krausen on top (foamy white stuff) but it may drop very quickly really what you're looking for is a thick band of white yeast on the bottom after about 24-48 hours.
 
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