I had my girlfriend pick up my list of brew stuff the other day and when I checked the date on the Wyeast London Ale 1028 smack pack it was 9/20/2014. I just pitched this yesterday. I see that the wort burped a bit into the airlock but no other airlock activity since cleaning it out. Will an almost 4 month old pack of yeast still be viable, if it was kept refrigerated in the LHBS? How long should I wait to pop the lid and see if anything is happening before I pitch more?
Wyeast Smack Pack 3.5 months old - still good?
- Thread starter nuber
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It will be fine. If you did not do a starter, you are going to have a long lag time before it starts working. Older and liquid yeast work best with a starter. However, as long as the yeast was refrigerated, you will be fine.
Cody
Cody
how'd you miss the article on the HomeBrewTalk homepage today? Its called "using yeast past its prime"
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/using-yeast-past-its-prime.html
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/using-yeast-past-its-prime.html
So this really never showed much visible signs of fermentation and the krausen was the smallest I had ever seen, however it actually attenuated at nearly 80%. I guess even though it wasn't very vigorous visibly it did the job in about the usual 4-5 days. Interesting to say the least.
BrewSavage
Well-Known Member
I checked my notes, last July I had a smack pack of Wyeast 1028 "London Ale" that was 121 days old on my brew morning* (a cream stout btw). i smacked it the night before but it was only slightly expanded.
I kept a close watch on the primary fermentor:
24 hours: nothing
48 hours: active
72 hours: very active
I bottled after 14 days and that was a mistake, it is far too foamy (but not explosive).
So I suggest making sure fermentation is complete. (I had gone a long time without using a hydrometer and simply bottling after 14-20 days but his batch made start using one again.)
*the yeast was delivered 66 days old but I kept it in the fridge for 8 weeks.
I kept a close watch on the primary fermentor:
24 hours: nothing
48 hours: active
72 hours: very active
I bottled after 14 days and that was a mistake, it is far too foamy (but not explosive).
So I suggest making sure fermentation is complete. (I had gone a long time without using a hydrometer and simply bottling after 14-20 days but his batch made start using one again.)
*the yeast was delivered 66 days old but I kept it in the fridge for 8 weeks.
