Anyone Have Experience With Holding Onto Smacked Smack Packs?

[Evan!]

I've been using Wyeast stuff for awhile along with WL, but I got a Biere de Garde pack today from AHS that had a ruptured interior packet (presumably ruptured in transit) and was considerably swollen already. My knowledge of yeast activity tells me that they'll just finish and flocculate and all will be well, and I contacted AHS and they said, bah, it'll be fine, just let it finish and then put it in the fridge until you're ready to brew, and that if it turns out to not work, they'll send me a new one.

Theoretically I'm thinking I'll be fine, but I was wondering if anyone has any real world experience with putting smacked and swollen packs back in the fridge and waiting a few weeks. It's all well and good that they'll replace it "after it fails", but by that point I'll be sitting on unfermented wort and will need it right then and there and it'll take 4 days to get here from AHS and by that point I'll have pitched something else on it anyway.

What say ye?

 

[Desert_Sky]

I have a buddy of mine who gave me a swollen pack that was 6 months old.

Made a starter to proof it and went ahead and pitched. The beer turned out great.

 

[david_42]

Yes, but Chimone's experience has mine beat.

 

[Kai]

I assume you're planning to make a starter, in which case it'll be totally fine - the starter gives both of the advantages a smackpack does (proof of vitality + increased cell counts). As much as I love smackpacks, starters sort of render them redundant.

(Oh yeah, I had the same happen to me with a Saison yeast, oh so similar, and it worked fine. Dried out to 1.002, in fact.)

 

[Evan!]

I assume you're planning to make a starter, in which case it'll be totally fine - the starter gives both of the advantages a smackpack does (proof of vitality + increased cell counts). As much as I love smackpacks, starters sort of render them redundant.

(Oh yeah, I had the same happen to me with a Saison yeast, oh so similar, and it worked fine. Dried out to 1.002, in fact.)

002? jesus.

Yeah, I always make starters...I'm a starter nazi, yo. Just got myself a stirplate, which kicks ass, too.

I too could take or leave the smack pack idea, which is why I don't discriminate between WL and Wyeast. It just sort of concerns me if this thing gets to full swell and it under all that pressure for a long time, but it sounds like it'll be okay.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Evan, I did my Biere de Garde with the WY 3725 this past Sunday. I just went and checked on my fermenters about 30 minutes ago and that brew is still churning away with a healthy krausen 4.5 days later. I'm hoping I can get down to 1.010 (lower would be even better).

I've never had a ferment be this active after this long.

 

[fratermus]

I've been using Wyeast stuff for awhile along with WL, but I got a Biere de Garde pack today from AHS that had a ruptured interior packet (presumably ruptured in transit) and was considerably swollen already.

Same here, although I think the 100F heat in Tx caused mine to swell. Shipped in one day from Austin to Dallas and I picked it up off the porch when I heard the doorbell, but the coldpack was very warm to the touch and the pack was swollen.

Tossed it in the fridge immediately. We'll see if it survives.

 

[MNBugeater]

+1 on make a starter and all is well. I've had a few packs expand accidentally before I wanted. I put them in the fridge and made starter a few days later and its fine.

 

[springer]

002? jesus.

Yeah, I always make starters...I'm a starter nazi, yo. Just got myself a stirplate, which kicks ass, too.

I too could take or leave the smack pack idea, which is why I don't discriminate between WL and Wyeast. It just sort of concerns me if this thing gets to full swell and it under all that pressure for a long time, but it sounds like it'll be okay.

I dont think that the pressure in a smack pack will do any damage. I just cultivated a starter for my saison from a bottle of Dupont. I'm sure a carbed bottle has more pressure than a smack pack and is much older than a few weeks.

 

[Chriso]

I'd whip up a starter right now... build it up as close to 2 L as you can... then split it between 3 sanitized Mason jars. Thrice the yeast, once the price! Like washing yeast, but pre-emptive.