My wife contaminated my yeast

[noodledancer77]

So I'm gonna brew soon and in the interest of time, called my wife to take my wyeast activator pack out of the fridge and give it a smack and get it going. in her defense, i should not have trusted this job to anyone else. in my defense, the instructions were clear. Take the package from the fridge and follow the instructions.

She opened the package and tells me over the phone, "it's wet inside." i said, ****, she opened it. After opening, she reached inside and touched the outside of the nutrient pack thinking that was what she was after.

The question is what to do now?

Is this yeast contaminated? i'm probably gonna take my chances and go ahead and make a starter when i get home tonight. is that a bad idea? what would you do?

 

[BryceL]

Bummer. If it was me I would get a new one. Spending $6 on new yeast beats wasting a whole batch...then you're in the hole $30. Plus, it's probably not a good thing to have it exposed to air waiting for you to get home. Just my opinion.

 

[mlg5039]

First, LOL.

Okay now thats out of the way. I would go ahead and. Make a starter, let that ferment out, and see what you got.

In the mean time, she could pour the yeast into a sanitized baby food jar or something similar til you get home.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I wouldn't waste my time on this yeast.

M_C

 

[unionrdr]

She contaminated yours? Isn't that usually the other way around? Seriously folks,as long as she didn't scratch her junk 1st,you should likely be ok. Make a starter with it,& keep an eye on it. Not to mention,your nose. Like the old tee shirt,"if it smells good,eat it"!

 

[noodledancer77]

Ha ha!!

I could have predicted folks responses. Some people wouldn't take the chance...others would. I will assume that her hands were clean, and in the absence of LHBS or more yeast, I'll go ahead and make a starter when i get home.

 

[unionrdr]

Well,I figured someone would,so I did & got it outta the way. But a non stir plate starter should show if it is indeed contaminated on sight or smell.

 

[LVBen]

+1 for using it anyway.

A yeast culture is not a friendly environment for most bacteria and fungi, and a small amount of wild yeast is likely to have only a very minor impact on your beer.

 

[Homercidal]

Brew it and drink your beer quickly.

 

[terrapinj]

i would get a new smack pack to brew this batch with and then make a starter with the possibly contaminated batch and wait to see if you notice any off smells, signs of contamination etc. before pitching it in a future batch

not worth wasting the time and $ with questionable yeast personally

 

[dragonbreath11]

Do you know where your wife's hands have been? No but seriously if your wife was just doing whatever her hands were inevitably dirty and she most likely contaminated the batch. I would pitch some dry yeast if I had some or go the the Homebrew shop for some new yeast. It's too risky in my opinion to hope and pray that all your hard work and money won't go down the drain.

 

[unionrdr]

He said he doesn't have an LHBS around him anywhere. No other options...Women are basically cleaner then we men are,generally speaking. I say do it.

 

[makomachine]

Cleanliness is godliness! (Smashing Pumpkins Tribute) I'd dump that pack down the drain and pitch a new pack if it was me. I'm hyper protective of my beers though as I have yet to brew the perfect beer.

 

[unionrdr]

"In Heaven,there is no beer,that's why we drink it here"!-Franky Yankovic Weird Al's dad or uncle

 

[dragonbreath11]

Order another smack pack online from the closest store to your address, you'll get a new smack pack in 2-3 days and you'll have piece of mind. If you're dead set on brewing this weekend then take your chances and risk a dumper. Me, I'm at a point in my brewing life where for me it's too much work/money to dump a batch. Besides why stress? wait a few days or next weekend and brew with confidence. In the meantime, you can tweak your recipe, work on a new recipe, study on a brewing aspect you're not completely knowledgeable about, or work on some gadget or gizmo that will make your hobby more enjoyable. That's my advice.

 

[terrapinj]

do you have any beers in primary that you could harvest some yeast from ?

 

[edecambra]

You could make a starter and just sniff it out. If you have made plenty you should know how they smell and look so if it looks and smells healthy you have probably driven off any other critters.

You could always order another bit of yeast and go ahead a brew this weekend, and just keep your wort sealed up and chilled until you have your yeast ready to pitch. It should be fine for a few days if your sanitation is good and your wife doesn't get to it.

 

[Homercidal]

"In Heaven,there is no beer,that's why we drink it here"!-Franky Yankovic Weird Al's dad or uncle

Just so we're clear here, Frank Yankovic was Weird Al's friend. No relation. They shared a common bond: The Accordian! :rockin:

 

[bad67z]

Just so we're clear here, Frank Yankovic was Weird Al's friend. No relation. They shared a common bond: The Accordian! :rockin:

and a last name!

 

[Homercidal]

and a last name!

<headsmack>

 

[frydogbrews]

use the opened yeast to make some pizza dough.
order some new yeast. since you had time to ask this question, you have time not to risk it. it's probably fine, but dumping beer blows.

as for "her" contaminating the beer, sounds to me like you tried to cut some corners and get a jump on things and she didn't know how to do it. so, while it may have been her hands, it was your decisions that contaminated your beer. only saying this because i mess up seemingly easy stuff that my wife asks me to do without fully explaining things, so i can see it from her perspective very clearly.