Forgot a Pack of WY3763 in the Car...

[Docod44]

In an absolute bone-headed move, I stopped at my LHBS after work to pick some things up and left the bag in the car when I went inside (I have an infant at home, I'm tired and making poor decisions). It's been really hot and hitting >100F inside the car and unfortunately one of the items I left was a pack of WY3763 Roeselare Belgian sour blend. I'm planning a Flemish Red brew day for Friday however now I'm wondering if I've ruined my sour blend. I remembered it was in the car about 6 hours later and promptly threw it in the fridge where it's been for the last 24 hours. I assume the yeast is dead, but are the bacteria cultures likely okay? Should I co-pitch with a neutral yeast just in case?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Like your infant, they are more durable than you'd expect.

 

[passedpawn]

Yea, 100F is just getting close to the optimal temperature for reproduction of yeast and the bugs in roeselare. BUT, I'm pretty sure down here in FL the temperature inside a vehicle can greatly exceed that. I'd get another pack of that yeast (which is AWESOME, I've used it a lot).

Regarding infants, they will die if left inside a car in the summer. They are not that durable. It's in the news all the time - cars now have sensors to warn you. I don't think those sensors would have saved your yeast though.

 

[passedpawn]

In an absolute bone-headed move, I stopped at my LHBS after work to pick some things up and left the bag in the car when I went inside (I have an infant at home, I'm tired and making poor decisions). It's been really hot and hitting >100F inside the car and unfortunately one of the items I left was a pack of WY3763 Roeselare Belgian sour blend. I'm planning a Flemish Red brew day for Friday however now I'm wondering if I've ruined my sour blend. I remembered it was in the car about 6 hours later and promptly threw it in the fridge where it's been for the last 24 hours. I assume the yeast is dead, but are the bacteria cultures likely okay? Should I co-pitch with a neutral yeast just in case?

Yes, co-pitch with your new yeast. No reason not to.

 

[DBhomebrew]

To be clear, I wasn't trying to imply infants are durable enough to leave in the car in FL heat!!! Just, you know, durable in general.

 

[Docod44]

To be clear, I wasn't trying to imply infants are durable enough to leave in the car in FL heat!!! Just, you know, durable in general.

An important clarification!

 

[Docod44]

Yes, co-pitch with your new yeast. No reason not to.

Makes sense, thank you. I may even try Jamil's method of fermenting out with an ale yeast and then pitching the 3763 for the long aging process, although I've heard anecdotally this method results in less sourness which is what I would be after.

 

[Docod44]

Yea, 100F is just getting close to the optimal temperature for reproduction of yeast and the bugs in roeselare. BUT, I'm pretty sure down here in FL the temperature inside a vehicle can greatly exceed that. I'd get another pack of that yeast (which is AWESOME, I've used it a lot).

Regarding infants, they will die if left inside a car in the summer. They are not that durable. It's in the news all the time - cars now have sensors to warn you. I don't think those sensors would have saved your yeast though.

I won't be able to get another at this point so I'll take my chances. Thank you!

 

[Beermeister32]

I’m not a fan of Roeselare. There was a thread a couple weeks ago where we were having some fun back and forth talking about Roeselare, came down to about 1 in 3 people not liking it. Personally, I’d say good riddance and find a different strain. If you haven’t used it before, go buy a 4 pack of Rodenbach Sour Ale first, see if you can tolerate this flavor.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I've done that as well, left yeast in the car, in Alabama summer heat, my yeast was fine.

Another time, I had ordered from White Labs, some from the yeast vault, it was delivered some time on Friday, I found it Saturday afternoon, after it had sat in a black mailbox in the summer heat as well.

Hopefully yours will be good as well.

 

[Reneauj62]

In an absolute bone-headed move, I stopped at my LHBS after work to pick some things up and left the bag in the car when I went inside (I have an infant at home, I'm tired and making poor decisions). It's been really hot and hitting >100F inside the car and unfortunately one of the items I left was a pack of WY3763 Roeselare Belgian sour blend. I'm planning a Flemish Red brew day for Friday however now I'm wondering if I've ruined my sour blend. I remembered it was in the car about 6 hours later and promptly threw it in the fridge where it's been for the last 24 hours. I assume the yeast is dead, but are the bacteria cultures likely okay? Should I co-pitch with a neutral yeast just in case?

Well, It is better than leaving the infant in the car for 6 hours... Seriously, if you brew long enough, things like this happens to most of us. I had a similar thing happen a while back and even though most of the yeast were negatively impacted (I suspect), I place the packet on a stir plate for 4 days (and changed the starter twice) and I had more than I needed...

 

[tracer bullet]

This is why I always have and always recommend having S-04 and S-05 dry yeasts on hand, just in case.

 

[Docod44]

This is why I always have and always recommend having S-04 and S-05 dry yeasts on hand, just in case.

I always have a few packets of S-04, Nottingham, Abbaye, WB-06, and 34/70 on hand as my core yeast library so thankfully I'm covered for most styles no matter what. I'll likely ferment with either S-04 or Nottingham and then pitch the Roeselare blend and see what happens.

 

[Docod44]

Sorry to revive a resolved thread but just thought I'd share a day 30 update. I pitched the smack pack of 3763 and decided to wait and see what would happen. The fermenter has been in my cool, dark basement but I checked it last night and there's a pellicle forming! I took a small gravity sample and it reached a slightly lower FG than predicted. Looks like everything worked out.

Day 30:

 

[madscientist451]

I'm planning a Flemish Red brew day for Friday however now I'm wondering if I've ruined my sour blend.
Should I co-pitch with a neutral yeast just in case?

Here's a method I've used for a Belgian Sour, its kind of old school, but it has worked for me:
-Start with Jamil's Flanders Red ale recipe
-Mash somewhat high to produce a high FG.
-Ferment with an ale yeast like S-04
-When its done, transfer to secondary and pitch your sour yeast blend. I like ECY Bug Farm, but its hard to get. There are many great blends available these days.
You want your secondary to be pretty full to avoid oxygen contact, its going to take a while to get the sour thing going and that depends on what blend you use, I've heard Rosalare is pretty slow. A corny keg works pretty good, take about an 1.5 inches off the dip tube so you can pull samples or if using a carboy, get some marbles or something similar.
A sour beer project takes a lot of time, I'm not sure if I'd use that yeast that was left in the car and Rosalare wouldn't be my first choice anyway. Perhaps make a small batch and toss the Rosalare in that and see what happens. You could also do a Solara type project, where you start with a small batch and the Rosalare, if it works, add some more wort to it as you take some out.

EDIT: Did you taste the sample? Any sour character yet? BTW, that's too much head space in your fermenter IMO anyway....

 

[Docod44]

Here's a method I've used for a Belgian Sour, its kind of old school, but it has worked for me:
-Start with Jamil's Flanders Red ale recipe
-Mash somewhat high to produce a high FG.
-Ferment with an ale yeast like S-04
-When its done, transfer to secondary and pitch your sour yeast blend. I like ECY Bug Farm, but its hard to get. There are many great blends available these days.
You want your secondary to be pretty full to avoid oxygen contact, its going to take a while to get the sour thing going and that depends on what blend you use, I've heard Rosalare is pretty slow. A corny keg works pretty good, take about an 1.5 inches off the dip tube so you can pull samples or if using a carboy, get some marbles or something similar.
A sour beer project takes a lot of time, I'm not sure if I'd use that yeast that was left in the car and Rosalare wouldn't be my first choice anyway. Perhaps make a small batch and toss the Rosalare in that and see what happens. You could also do a Solara type project, where you start with a small batch and the Rosalare, if it works, add some more wort to it as you take some out.

Thanks for the detailed breakdown. I didn't include details about my process since I was primarily concerned about the viability of the Roesalare pack, but I essentially did what you described. I mashed at 160°F and fermented with a pack of WLP518 (would have used S-04 or Nottingham normally but AIH sent me a pack of wlp518 instead of yeast nutrient in my last order by accident). I pitched the Roeselare blend in primary after FG stabilized and I'll just leave it there until the pellicle drops back down, I have some extra 3 gallon cornies and floating dip tubes that I'll transfer it to at that point. It's a franken-beer for sure but I've enjoyed the samples so far!