"Exploding" Yeast Vials - White Labs WLP001

[StLouBrew]

In the process of cooking my last batch of beer I managed to have multiple yeast disasters. The first came when I was ready to pitch my Wyeast 1056 for the SNPA clone I had just cooked. This yeast comes in the foil "smack pack." There's an inner pouch containing nutrients that needs to be ruptured 3 hrs or more before pitching. I thought I had ruptured that pouch, but when it was time to pitch I cut open the outer foil back and it found that it was not ruptured. When I tried to do that, I just made a mess of the whole thing and had to throw it away.

So now I have a crisis on my hands - a batch of beer ready to go and no yeast. The store where I bought the Wyeast 1056 is now closed for the day and the only other store that carries brewing supples that's open does not carry Wyeast 1056. Instead I get White Labs WLP001. I'm anxious to get this yeast into the batch, so I accelerate the prep of the yeast by warming it slightly, and rocking it back and forth to bring all the yeast into solution. When I loosened the cap on the vial it foamed out all over the place. Just like opening a very over-carbed beer.

I go back the store and buy another vial, and this time follow the instructions to the letter. Three hours at room temp (68F), occasionally rocking gently to put the yest into suspension. Crack open the vial and essentially the same results - yeast spewing forth. This time I was ready for it. I santized the outside of the vial and my hands and just let it run into the primary container.

Has anyone else had this problem? Is there anything else besides following the instructions that I should have done?

Thanks!

 

[Hammy71]

Yes, some of White Labs yeast will do this. You need to crack, reseal.....repeat. Chaulk it up to a learning experience. Happens/Happened to us all.

 

[Lgaddy44]

Coincidentally, I had the same happen with my most recent vial of WLP001. I had everything sanitized pretty well so I didnt worry too much about the extra mess. I was still able to make some slants, and make a starter from the vial.

Oddly enough (or maybe not), it was a very active fermentation, in both the starter and in the primary. 1L starter overflowed a bit in a 2L flask, and in the primary, it clogged up the airlock for the 5 gallon batch, eventually popping the seal of the lid on the bucket.

Eh, it happens sometimes. Do your best with sanitation and be ready to roll with it when these things occur. No worries.

 

[StLouBrew]

Yup... just got off the phone with White Labs. They confirmed it's a known problem. If that's the case, you'd think the LEAST they could do is address this in the prep instructions.

I'm a relative noob to all this. With only 6-7 batches under my belt, I know I have a lot to learn and learning from mistakes is part of the process. But if this batch is contaminated, and better packaging/instructions could've prevented it, I'm going to go out of my way to avoid using White Labs stuff in the future.

Cheers folks and thanks for the replies!

 

[StoneHands]

In your original yeast, the nutrient pack is just that - nutrient, it contains no yeast. The yeast was the rest of the liquid. If I understand correctly, the nutrient pack is there to show viability. If the pack swells after breaking the nutrient pack, the yeast is viable. It does nothing to increase cell count or help the yeast that's outside of the nutrient pack. It's a bit gimmicky IMO, especially if you make a starter, but it's a nice indicator. You could've pitched the pack of yeast (just the liquid) and all would've been OK. (not going into cell count....)
As far as the WLP vials, after you use them once you know what to expect. They are under pressure. As was stated above, crack it slowly to let off some of the pressure and then reclose before it foams out of the tube. Repeat as often as necessary. Kind of like opening a bottle of Coke that you shook up. Open it slightly to release, then close it before it foams over. Eventually you'll be able to open it without spilling anything.

 

[Hammy71]

001 is a beast anyway. It's the reason I upgraded my 2ml flasks for starters to 5ml. Got tired of cleaning up the mess.

 

[fuzzy2133]

... As far as the WLP vials, after you use them once you know what to expect. They are under pressure. As was stated above, crack it slowly to let off some of the pressure and then reclose before it foams out of the tube. Repeat as often as necessary. Kind of like opening a bottle of Coke that you shook up. Open it slightly to release, then close it before it foams over. Eventually you'll be able to open it without spilling anything.

Another option is to crack the vial open when it is cold and a few times as it warms up. This is what I do when making a starter and have not had a foaming mess since.

 

[CA_Mouse]

Another option is to crack the vial open when it is cold and a few times as it warms up. This is what I do when making a starter and have not had a foaming mess since.

This is exactly what I have done from day 1. Crack it to release pressure, close it tightly and drop it in my pocket to help warm it up, 30 minutes later I crack it to release the pressure again and leave on the table until I'm ready to put it in the starter (again, releasing any pressure in the vial). Never had a single one explode out of the vial and no infected batches.

 

[Britinusa]

I think most of us do the same with the crack to release pressure.

 

[cervid]

That's how you know you have strong fresh yeast!

I sanitize the outside when it take it out, shake it up, crack the lid and set it in a coffee cup I wiped down with a sanitized paper towel.

I usually don't get any foam over, but sometimes it happens, especially if they are fresh and a strain like the one you mentioned.. I check back and seal the lid when I shake it a little more, then release it.

I just like that with white labs you get the straight yeast. The Wy has sugar and nutes in the smack packs and they are great, but I like the idea of pure yeast going into a starter and the only fermentable it sees it maltose and the nutes I put in there.