Problems with Wyeast?

[delenda_est]

After reading Airtight's post about trying different yeast strains in Apfelwein, I decided to pick up a couple of Wyeast #3068s to do cider and a Hefe.

But when I called my local homebrew shop, they told me they don't stock Wyeast because it's had "all kinds of problems." Instead they do White Labs yeast.

This shop has never steered me wrong in the past, but Wyeast seems to be pretty popular.

I'm fairly new to this (only about 8-10 batches so far), so I'm still feeling my way around. Are they off base about Wyeast?

 

[Evan!]

Without any elaboration on these so-called problems, there's no way to know what they were talking about. They could very well have meant "all kinds of problems with the wholesale supplier" for all we know. I personally haven't had problems, though.

 

[the_bird]

Never heard of any problems with Wyeast... now, I've only used White Labs, myself, but from all that I've heard, they're pretty much interchangable.

 

[Cookiebaggs]

My LHBS says Wyeast is great with customer service issues. He had a few customers that had a problem with the smack packs rupturing the outer seal and leaking. He sent back the defective pouches and was given replacements by Wyeast no questions asked.

I've had no problems.

 

[DeathBrewer]

I've used both. As long as you make a starter you'll be fine. I usually buy White Labs just because that's what the LHBS carries.

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

I'm willing to bet they just said that because they don't carry Wyeast and want you to buy WLs. I've used both and they are all fine, I find WL vials are not really 'pitchable' and take longer to start fermenting than the wyeast smack packs.

When I worked in a bike shop, the crappy salesmen would usually respond to customers asking for bikes we didn't carry by saying they were bad and had problems.

 

[jpuf]

I've used the stuff almost exclusively for the last 8 years, never had a problem. (except for one pack that froze solid sitting on my porch for a week (Not their fault))

 

[rdwj]

Given the choice, I'd use Wyeast every time. I love the smack pack concept. There is no wondering about viability. Even if you do make a starter, that's valuable.

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

I've used them twice and they both worked fine, even the first time when I didn't let it swell fully before pitching.

The LHBS I normally go to only has WL, so often it's a pain to get over the one that carries Wyeast, but it's worth it sometimes.

I agree with what's been said, you can't go wrong with a smack pack, you have an instant signal of viability that you don't get with a vial, even without making a starter.

 

[Dr Malt]

Wyeast and White Labs make quality products. If your LHBS is truly having problems, they should be talking to Wyeast, not you, the customer. Both these companies have excellent customer service as they market a living product and know it has a limited shelf life. I would say the problem lies with your LHBS somewhere.

I have used both Wyeast and White Labs yeast and they have performed well. Since I am in the Northwest, I tend to use more Wyeast products and no complaints, in fact as you can see, I recommend them.

Dr Malt

 

[Madtown Brew]

I've used both and they are all fine, I find WL vials are not really 'pitchable' and take longer to start fermenting than the wyeast smack packs.

White Labs vials contain 30-50 billion cells
Wyeast "Activator" smackpacs contain 100 billion cells

I've used both and haven't had any problems yet. Only issue I've ever heard of was the smackpac rupturing. Definitely reccomend making a starter for WL vials. For Wyeast, it's still reccomended, but not as necessary.

 

[King of the Swill]

The only problem I had was the first time I used a smack pack I was very, very cautious because I was certain I would rupture the pack. It took me about 5 minutes to finally smack it hard enough in the right spot to get it to work. The "all kind of problems" answer is usually just a quick way to say "buy what we got".

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

"All kinds of problems with them"

Read:

"it took me twenty tries to convince myself that I had cracked the inner pack, and I still hadn't done it"

 

[kaptain_karma]

I've used Wyeast for most of my brews and never had a problem, even after mistreating it a few times. I think I'm definitely going start washing and saving yeast though, instead of dropping 5.75 every time I need 1028, 1084, or 1338. I've used White Labs for several brews and been very pleased with them as well.