New from Maine with a Wyeast question

[KJB5200]

Hey everybody,
I just got into brewing after the holidays. Started with an IPA that's bottle-conditioning now (tasted decent on bottling day though). I decided rather last-minute to brew this past sunday and picked up a Wyeast smack pack at the local brew shop. Being new to this (last recipe came with the yeast besides) I didn't even think to check the strain. I just grabbed it and ran to get brewing asap. Only later did I realize not only was I unsure of what strain it was but I don't even know if it's ale or lager yeast! Well it's been three full days now and I've got no activity in the primary so far. Anyways, on to my questions: 1) Does Wyeast typically leave any strain identification info off of their labels? 2) If I move my primary to the garage (hopefully not too cold) how long before might I expect to see activity if I did pitch lager yeast by accident? Thanks for anyone's input! Glad to find such a great forum for homebrewing

 

[mb2696]

you should still eventually see activty even if it is a lager yeast

and they do label all the smack packs with the strain. It's on the front near the top usually on the blue part. It's stamped in white

 

[moonbrew]

Welcome to the board...

Wyeast prints the strain right on the front of the package up near the front... do you still have the package... can you dig it out of the trash, that info will help you troubleshoot. It would also help to know what you brewed. For example, if you brewed a "big" beer, anything over about 1.065 OG then 1 package of Wyeast would be under-pitching that beer, and it might have a longer lag time before you have signs of activity.

Also, did you smack the pack? Did it swell? Because it is also possible that you picked up a pack of dead yeast... sometimes it happens.

We need a little more info to more accurately help diagnose the problem.

You're at the right place for help though... the guys around here are great and very helpful.

 

[KJB5200]

"and they do label all the smack packs with the strain. It's on the front near the top usually on the blue part. It's stamped in white"

Hmmnn...that's irritating then. I scoured that package for any sort of identification and couldn't find anything. Oh well, I'll likely just monitor it until the weekend and if there's still nothing I'll try another innoculation. Thanks!

 

[KJB5200]

Hey Moonbrew, the recipe called itself a Strong Ale but with only 3.3lbs DarkLME and 3lbs DarkDME (plus a 30min steep of 1/4lb Black Patent and 1/2lb crystal) I hit a 1.052 OG. In the interest of being thorough in my description, I added 1.5oz 4% Fuggles at boil and another 0.5oz. at 45min. As far as the smackpack swelling, I thought I had broken the nutrient pack inside (first time using a smackpack) but once I went to open the pack I found that it had never actually broken. As a result I wasn't sure whether the yeast was still viable or not. I'll likely wait until the weekend to see if an activity gets rolling and if not I'll make a starter to pitch again with.

 

[mb2696]

"and they do label all the smack packs with the strain. It's on the front near the top usually on the blue part. It's stamped in white"

Hmmnn...that's irritating then. I scoured that package for any sort of identification and couldn't find anything. Oh well, I'll likely just monitor it until the weekend and if there's still nothing I'll try another innoculation. Thanks!

strange...here's an example photo of a 1187 - ringwood ale pack:

http://huvudveck.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/hpim5379.jpg

they also print the date on it too...that one is 10/26/09. yours is completely blank?

either way, as long as the yeast wasn't dead, regardless of the recipe, yeast type, pitch rate etc, it should ferment the wort to some extent if the wort is fermentable, and you should be able to see it. what temperature are you keeping the fermenter? how long and at what temperature did you store the smack pack before you used it?

are you using a carboy or a bucket? if you have a bucket and you say you have no activity, what do you mean? if you mean the airlock isn't bubbling, i wouldn't rely on that as the sole sign of activity. take a peek and see if there is any krausen.

however, the only way to be absolutely positive on whether any fermentation has occurred is to take a gravity reading

 

[DragonTail]

Welcome
Hopefully your problem will be solved.
If you don't see any change, pitch the "correct" yeast, wost case is the other yeast worked and you'd be out the money for the extra pack, as long as no "other" critters got in there.

 

[KJB5200]

Thanks for the input guys!
The latest is that I'm finally getting a very thin layer of krausen on the top of this batch but it's been 6 days since I pitched. My concern now is whether it's been infected and the wild microbes have had enough time to start growing or if my originally pitched yeast just took that long to get started. I just picked up some Safbrew S-33 and Safale S-05 today and planned to repitch but now I'm in a quandry wondering if I should repitch or just wait and see what happens with it. And as for the labeling on the Wyeast pack, you were absolutely right mb2696. I don't know how I missed it (and I was really struggling to find some identification on there!) but sure enough it was in white print along the blue strip on the package. It's 1272 American Ale II and it was manufactured on 08/06/09. No expiration date though (and I'm positive I truly scoured the label this time! ) The smackpack was refrigerated when purchased, hung out for about 30 minutes at room temp, thought I activated it (but didn't actually) and then sat at room temp for 2-3 hours until I was ready to pitch. My fermentor is kept consistently between 60-64 and although I'm using a bucket, I've read Revvy's posts so I'm well aware that a bubbling airlock is not a definite sign of activity
Of course I only noticed the slight layer of krausen after I made the S-33 starter so now it's going crazy waiting for me to pitch it but I'm a bit unsure of what to do now. If my original yeast is finally working then repitching wouldn't be terrible but I'm concerned about whether it should be sanitized first in case the activity in the fermentor isn't from the yeast. Is there any reliable way of determining yeast activity versus infection activity? Thanks again guys!