Need some help with yeast

[NChomebrewer]

I need a little advice on yeast. This is my fourth time brewing. On Saturday I brewed a Flat Tire ingrediant kit from Midwest Brewing using Wyeast Belgian Ale liquid yeast. I hit the smack pack and gave the pack a good 5-6 hours to swell. The only problem is it never did. I felt around the pack to make sure I had broken the nutrient packet. And I did. I shook the pack a few times to get everything mixed but it never expanded. The kit and yeast were bought in mid December. The yeast has been in the refrigerator since that time. So while it wasn’t used right away it is not really old yeast. I pitched it anyway thinking maybe it would still work. Although I figured it probably would not so I ordered an emergency pack of yeast from a local home brew store later Saturday night.

Sunday there was no activity in the fermenter. Monday during the day still no activity in the fermenter. Late last night I noticed a little bit of foam gathering on top of the wort. I’m using a Better Bottle. This morning I checked and there is a thin layer of krausen and the airlock is bubbling once about every 10-11 seconds. So it took over 48 hours for things to start going in the fermenter.

My emergency pack of yeast will arrive today. When I go home for lunch today I am going to check to see if the airlock is still bubbling and if it has gotten more active. I guess the yeast is working but it is slow. I know yeast works on its’ own schedule but the fact that the smack pack never swelled is what concerns me.

Is the original yeast that I pitched on Saturday healthy enough to get the job done?

Should I still go ahead and pitch the second pack of yeast or is the original finally doing the job?

If I do pitch the second pack when should this be done? Should I wait until the little bit of krausen has settled?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[thenatibrewer]

IMHO i would wait it out and see what the original yeast is going to do. i feel it is going to be fine. what was the temp when you originally did the smacking? i think they are supposed to be around 75f? i would refrig the emergency pack and see what happens. 48 hrs is pretty normal if the pack did not swell. give time for the little guys to go to work. good luck.

 

[NChomebrewer]

what was the temp when you originally did the smacking? i think they are supposed to be around 75f?

When I smacked the pack it was initially chilled from being in the refridgerator but it was left out to warm to room temperature prior to pitching. The temps in our house are around 68-70. This is only the third time I have used the Wyeast smack packs but the first time the pack did not swell. I was worried the yeast was bad. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Bugeaterbrewing]

You should really smack the thing the day before to give it plenty of time to swell. Actually, you should get into the habit of smacking it 3 days before brew day and pitching it into at least a quart of starter wort (2 quarts is much better) and let that ferment out. This will more than double the amount of yeast and will give you a much quicker start and more complete attenuation.

For your current situation, I think your beer will be fine with just the original yeast. The beer will be a little stressed from underpitching (evidenced by the slow start). This will cause some fruity esters but since this is a Belgian this is perfectly to style and won't be a problem at all. Save the other package of yeast for your next brew and make a starter this time.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company