Question About Wyeast 3278

[LiquidFlame]

I'm planning on making a Lambic this Saturday during Big Brew Day, so I went to my LHBS today and ask if they had any Wyeast 3278. They only had one left, that they already popped because it's date is October 2nd 2014, so they were going to use it for something random. I'm pretty good friends with the owner of the LHBS, so he gave it to me for free.

I'm debating if I should make a starter for it today, or throw it in the fridge and make a starter closer to Saturday, or just throw it out and buy some online. What do you guys think, because according to MrMalty, my 1.044, 10.5 gallon Lambic would need 11 of these packs with this date if I make a 1.73L starter on a stir plate.

 

[Calder]

Ignore Mr Malty, don't make a starter, just pitch it straight from the pack.

A low sacc count allows the other bugs to start building colonies before alcohol is created. This will actually speed up the whole process ....... It will still take a long time. I prefer older packs for sours because it takes longer to start.

Just in case the sacc is dead (it doesn't like low ph environments), have some Belgian yeast ready to pitch after 4 to 5 days. The bugs will be plenty viable.

 

[Gus_13]

It will still have some viable things in there. The brett in there will still work. It could take a few days to start up. I just pitched a pack of Roeselare into a 1.044 lambic style wort and it took 4 days to show any activity. But, I did get a noticeable sourness in the flavor/aroma. Now it's firing off like I had pitched fresh yeast. I brewed on Friday and it took until yesterday for the yeast to kick in. Having the other yeast is a good idea as well. If you want a cleaner yeast profile WLP001 or Wyeast 1056 have both handled low pH well for me.

Another tip, pitch some bottle dregs with that 3728 and it will be great. I have a pLambic sitting around 10 months right now with that and dregs from Beatification and a few other good sours. Good luck!