Omega DIPA Yeast - DOA?

Was planning on brewing an IPA today. Had a pack of Omega DIPA Yeast that we got that the LHBS about 2 months back. Date on package was 8/11/2015 (so it's basically just over 2 months old). Has been in the fridge since purchase. Took out yesterday morning and let it warm up to room temp and then pitched into a 1800ML starter wort at 72 degrees and fired up the stir plate. Temp has remained between 70-72 since starting but getting no visible activity after 16 hours. Should have seen something by now. Stopped the stir plate and put an airlock on the flask to see if I could detect any CO2 coming out but airlock is pretty much flat and all yeast settled right to the bottom once the stir plate disengaged. Bad Batch? I do have a pack of US-05 on hand and can switch gears if necessary. I know that no all starters will necessarily produce a strong krausen but I think I should be seeing something at this point. I could pitsh this alnong with the 05 but if there is some issue and the yeasties are bad thinking may be better off with just the 05? Suggestions?

 

I'm dealing with the exact same issue that you are right now. My yeast is older than yours 4/2015 but your concerns are the same as mine. I have no experience working with this yeast and I wonder if its characteristic of the strain or a bad batch. The only signs of life that I see is some condensation on the inside of the flask and I've had a starter running on a stirplate for 2 days.

 

I am currently fermenting with Omega DIPA. It definitely reacts much different than the Wyeast I normally use. I didn't see much action on the stir plate. Starter wort did turn a blondish, goldish color, and had a decent amount of yeast settle. My pack was fresh but concerned because I didnt see the explosive diarrhea action I get from some Wyeast.

How ever when I reluctantly pitched it in my 5gallon batch, I saw bubble action in several hrs. By the next day it was like an aerator pump it the blow off jug! Couldn't count the bubbles per second! And blow off bursts that shook water all over in the blow off jug!

My conclusion so far is. Omega DIPA is an extremely clean, fast fermenting yeast, you may have missed peak ferment in your starter if like me, set on the stir plate and let it be til the next day. The foam/krausen was white, like I said, very clean.

Going on day six in my carboy and ferment looks to be almost done, going to gravity check it tomorrow. I also didnt get big chunks(floating in the carboy) like I see with wyeast or dry yeasts. Looks to be a very fast clean, fast acting yeast.

Hope this helps.

 

What the starter looked like

 

Looks like you at least have what appears to be some bubbles around the rim. Aside from the wort having that milky white appearance not seeing anything else in this photo that leads me to feel all that confident.

 

I see what you mean. Looks ify. Is there any slurry on the bottom? If not, tell tale sign.

Good luck!

Oh, curious...How much DME did you use in your starter? And what is the OG of the brew?

 

The starter on the Blue stirplate looks pretty solid. Mine looks similar to twotaurenbrewing's and I just don't trust it.

I ended up going to my LHS and picking up a pack of denny's favorite yeast as they don't carry Omega. I have my completed batch of Honey Mosaic DIPA sitting in the basement. I whipped up a quick starter and put this one on the stir plate and I guess I'll pitch before I go to bed. I think it will be ok sitting in the carboy until then.

Let us know if you use it and how it turns out.

Best of luck to you guys

 

You need to check gravity. It's the only way to tell if....

 

So we ended up dumping the yeast. Checked gravity and confirmed no fermentation. The starter had an odd color to it and foul aroma. Talked the folks at Omega and they had not had any prior reports of any issues with this batch but were nice enough to offer to send another pack. Really looking forward to trying this yeast out. We brewed a Saison with their SaisonStein yeast and it was great.

 

FWIW I know 2 people that bought yeast from that company out of a refrigerator at a well respected lhbs. They were both well within the exp date but neither produced any fermentation after 4 days. I don't plan on buying any myself.