Wyeast Activator Lifespan

[theganda]

So I was going to bottle today and rack onto the yeast cake, but turns out my friend tossed my StarSan while he was cleaning our place. Instead of risking it using bleach, i was going to try and go pick up some more tomorrow. The problem is I was going to mix the yeast cake with some Wyeast in an activator pouch that I smacked yesterday. How long can these things stay sealed once they ve been popped? Is this thing going to explode everywhere if I leave it? Thanks.

 

[Denny]

Months at the very least....just put it back in the fridge til you're ready to use it.

Just curious....if you've got a yeast cake, what's to gain from adding a smackpack?

 

[theganda]

Ooh that's great news. I'm going to mix strains. I'm putting a Belgian IPA on a Hefe Yeast cake then pitching fresh Abbey Ale yeast too.

 

[Denny]

How do you know which one will dominate and what kind of results you'll get? Or isn't that an issue?

 

[theganda]

I don't know to be honest - that's why I'm doing it. I haven't really experimented much and I'm willing to try even if I get something funky at the end.

 

[Denny]

Just to let you know, my experience mixing yeasts is that it's completely unpredictable and generally one will prevail and you won't really be able to detect the other. I've had better luck fermenting separate batches with different yeasts and blending post fermentation. Good luck!