emergency help! failed to smack that pack!

My first brew was today, and everything was going well until it came time to pitch the yeast. I gave the smack pack a decent smacking several hours ago when I started, but when I poured it into the fermenter bucket I saw an unbroken packet of dark orange/brown liquid. The yeast packet broke and poured out, but I'm afraid they're either all dead from sitting at room temp in the bag without food or they won't be able to get the job done in the wort. Should I add the other packet to the wort??

The yeast won't be dead. You should be okay....

If you made a normal sized beer (OG 1.040-1.060) you should be okay. You should be making a starter with liquid yeast, but in this case you should be okay.

so should I add the food packet now, or will they be okay without it?

you've just added millions of yeast cells to ~5 gallons of sugary wort - they will be going to town soon!

Post back in a day or two when your airlock is going rat-a-tat-tat

whew ok thanks

It will be fine. I did the same thing on my first brew like two years ago. A hefeweizen (A type of German wheat beer). I had massive blow off coming out of the blow off tube just about six hours later.

BrewerBrad said:

whew ok thanks

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just be sure to post back in this thread so I can say "I told you so!" hehehe

RDWHAHB, and next time, try my method for ensuring the inside pack of the Activator is ruptured:

1. Place a bottom corner of the Activator on a sharp edge, like a counter or table.

2. Pull the pack down the edge with your hand, keeping pressure on the edge. You will feel liquid squirting past the edge under your hand.

3. When you get to the opposite top corner, the inside pouch will be trapped in that corner. Smack it with one hand.

4. This "smacks the pack" every time for me. After a few times, it goes VERY quickly.

Note: Every once in a while, even if the pouch is broken, the pack won't swell up. Pitch the yeast anyhow. The last batch I made did that and took 48 hours to take off, but take off it did.

I have found it best to do the smack a day before brew day to give them time to get going. Smacking them a couple hours before pitching is hardly worth the extra money you paid it. Smack packs contain a LOT less cells when compared to dry packets and so need time to multiply so that you are pitching a large quantity of viable cells into your wort.

Will it work if you do it the same day? Sure, but it leads to slower startup and increases the risk that some other organism will get a foothold in your brew.

Adam

FYI From the horse's mouth.

From the Wyeast FAQ website:

3. Does the package need to be fully swollen before pitching?

No, The package can be pitched before activating, or at anytime during the activation process. The activation process "jump starts" the culture's metabolism, minimizing the lag phase.

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You don't even really need to spack it.

Revvy said:

spack it.

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I love that word! What do you get when you combine smack and spank - spack!



Now, why am I not surprised that you came up with this, Revvy? Whether purposefully or subconsciously?