My first White Labs Pure Pitch pack. Thumbs down!!

[kh54s10]

I pitched a London Ale WLP013 pack into a starter for a Robust Porter that I will be brewing on Friday.

I am less than impressed. It may be a better way to incubate the yeast, but it is a PITA to use. I first sanitized and shook it a bit. Then I cut off the top and poured out the liquid. I saw very little yeast come out so I poured some starter wort into the pack. There is so little extra area that shaking did little to mix it up. I repeated this process 2 more times, getting a little yeast. I then pulled out the inner pouch and could see a lot of yeast packed into the bottom so I added starter wort and shook it, 2 more times before I got most of the yeast out.

I might give it another try, but Wyeast is looking to be my go to for liquid yeast.

I also have to look at some of the newer competitors entering the market.

 

[DrWill]

Perhaps I am especially gifted; I have never had any difficulty getting everything out of the packet. I wonder if anyone else has had issues with the new packaging. Could be some strains are a little more reluctant than others.

 

[Staticsouls]

Squeeze it out like toothpaste.

 

[day_trippr]

The first time I used the new WL package (1010, iirc) I massaged and shook the heck out of it, cut open the outer sleeve and slipped the inner package out, sanitized it, slit the top edge open, and squeezed it out like a toothpaste tube.

There was very little of anything left, though I did swish some wort in there just in case.

Compared with the drama of opening the old vials, I'll take the new package anytime...

Cheers!

 

[mongoose33]

Did you let it warm up first? I've used a couple of them, didn't have any problems. Made beer.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I second that .... warm it up, the issue is it came from the fridge and its solidified to a corner of the packet, take the yeast out of the fridge before you even mash

 

[Dog House Brew]

I fixed it by buying WYeast

 

[kh54s10]

If I do use one again, I will take the route day trippr uses and remove the inner pack so I can see if I have loosened the yeast. I will also shake the bejeebers out of it.

It had warmed up quite a bit. I don't know how much, it sat on the counter for at least an hour. The starter is going fine!

Once I knew that the old vials might erupt, it was easy to deal with by "burping" the pressure out. You could also shake it easily to loosen the yeast.

 

[mongoose33]

I second that .... warm it up, the issue is it came from the fridge and its solidified to a corner of the packet, take the yeast out of the fridge before you even mash

The first one I used felt like it had frozen when I took it out of the refrigerator. I let it warm up, shook it a few times to loosen everything up, and only when it appeared that inverting the pack caused all the yeast to move down did I pitch it into the starter flask.

Funny how we have different issues w/ yeast packs. I was using Wyeast 1028 and after following directions, pulling from refrigerator and smacking the interior pack, there was no evidence of anything much going on. No swelling, nothing. I put it into a starter, and for 24 hours still no evidence of anything happening.

I pitched it into Biermuncher's Black Pearl Porter and even then it didn't do anything at 60 degrees. Eventually it took off when I raised the fermenter to 65 degrees.

It was a weird yeast, but it did attenuate to where I expected it to end up.

 

[kh54s10]

The first one I used felt like it had frozen when I took it out of the refrigerator. I let it warm up, shook it a few times to loosen everything up, and only when it appeared that inverting the pack caused all the yeast to move down did I pitch it into the starter flask.

Funny how we have different issues w/ yeast packs. I was using Wyeast 1028 and after following directions, pulling from refrigerator and smacking the interior pack, there was no evidence of anything much going on. No swelling, nothing. I put it into a starter, and for 24 hours still no evidence of anything happening.

I pitched it into Biermuncher's Black Pearl Porter and even then it didn't do anything at 60 degrees. Eventually it took off when I raised the fermenter to 65 degrees.

It was a weird yeast, but it did attenuate to where I expected it to end up.

Coincidence? I am doing my version of the same recipe!

 

[Beer-lord]

It's really a pack within a pack so I cut the top off, pull out the inner sleeve and it works just fine for me. I actually like this and have used about 15 of them so far all with great results.

 

[kev211]

Ive never had any issues with it, but I use a similar method to Trippr. I cut the top off and grab the corner of the inner pouch, pull it out of the outer sleeve and treat it like a tube of toothpaste. Usually get pretty much everything out of it.

I personally love the new packs. I always hated having to do the pressure release dance with the old tubes and these do a great job of eliminating any excess pressure

 

[kh54s10]

I guess I have learned some tricks, and since my LHBS has White Labs and not Wyeast, I will probably be using more fairly soon...

 

[sleepspeaking]

I used my first pack not too long ago and was pleased.
I have always shaken the vials like crazy anyway.
I just carried it in my pocket for a few minutes to warm it.
Then shook like crazy, sanitized and pitched.
There wasn't anymore yeast left in the pack than is normally in the vials.
I hope this was a one off issue..

 

[HLSheppard]

I fixed it by buying WYeast

Same here! I am a "Smack Pack" convert.

 

[Homercidal]

I loved the old vials. No problem opening them with a small amount of caution.

The new packs are just ok. I don't get a cool vial to keep after I use them, though.

 

[mongoose33]

Coincidence? I am doing my version of the same recipe!

Synchronicity!

I'm still relatively new to brewing so I haven't seen it all, not even half, but the lack of apparent activity by that yeast was startling compared to everything else I'd ever used.

And still, it did work, though, just not at the pace and with the visual keys I'd normally expect. It attenuated down to 1.020, which was to be expected with the amount of nonfermentables in there.

It's cold-crashing as I write this, and tonite I expect to keg it. Planning on adding vanilla to it, but what I've tasted so far from the hydrometer sample was very nice.

 

[beskone]

Squeeze it out like toothpaste.

This.

I just let mine warm up to room temp, shake the crap outta them and squeeze it right out to get every last drop. Probably have 10 or more brew days with the pure pitches and never had a single issue.

 

[LibertyBrewer]

I love it. You don't have to peel the labels off the tubes any more. It kicks off fast. What's not to like?

 

[Bassman2003]

I will deal with the new packs as I think there is more fresh yeast inside compared to the vials. Also, so often the LHBS vials were out of date for some strains. The new packs have a lot longer shelf life which means the store owners can have a little more confidence stocking more yeast varieties.