So... bad to leave Wyeast packet out?

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jining

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Hey guys, so I accidentally left a packet of Wyeast liquid yeast at room temp for 3-4 hours before I broke the nutrient packet... could the yeast be all dead? Its been 48 hours and no bubbling out of the airlock... my past 2 beers I made bubbled within 24 hours or so.
 
Did the packet inflate? You may just have a slow starter. Leaving it out for 3-4 hours is harmless, it's when you leave it out for a week or so when it becomes harmfull.
 
It is fine. I usually take my liquid yeast out of the fridge the night before I brew so it has time to warm up closer to that 70 degree bath it will be jumping in to.
 
i get those packets by mail all the time and i dont ever have a problem. they are usually pretty warm by the time i recieve them.
 
Some smack packs don't even swell but the yeast inside is still alive and ready to work for you. If you don't get fermentation within a couple days after you pitch, then simply buy some more yeast and re-pitch!
 
So the real question is what is room temp? 70 +/-? No problems. The fact your beer isn't going after 48 hours may or may not be a problem. Did you aerate? Most important, especially if you suspect poor yeast health.
 
Still no bubbles....

Yes I aerated, im afraid that I might have added the yeast when the wort was too hot perhaps? It was about 80f on my thermometer but... im beginning to think its not accurate +/- 10 degrees... shall I throw this batch out? Or is it possible to add more yeast?

Thanks for the help!
 
Still no bubbles....
shall I throw this batch out?

Them are firghtin' words!!!

What temperature is it at now? Have you given it a little swirl? Also, air locks with no bubbles don't mean much. I have one bucket that never gets activity. Have you taken a peek inside to see if there is karausen or evidence of one? What was the recipe and do you have access to an LHBS to get some dry yeast?
 
Don't trust your airlock... those things are lyin' SOBs.... the only way to find out if things are moving along is to pop it open and take a gravity reading.
 
+1 on the hydrometer check

Also, what was the SG of this particular beer? If it was higher than your past batches that could increase the lag time between pitching and a vigorous fermentation. And I know the containers all say they contain a pitchable amount of yeast, but they tend to be about a 100 billion yeast cells shy of that. Doing a starter in the future will give you a faster start and verify that your yeast is in fact alive before its pitched.

That being said you're probably fine. Give it another day or so and do a gravity reading if you can.
 
Hey jining,
+1 to the previous recommendations.

FWIW, I accidently pitched my yeast at a little over 100 deg once (definitely NOT recommended!!) and I still made beer. It could have been better, but it was beer!!
 
Hey jining,
+1 to the previous recommendations.

FWIW, I accidently pitched my yeast at a little over 100 deg once (definitely NOT recommended!!) and I still made beer. It could have been better, but it was beer!!

Did the same thing on my first back.. I now know what fussels are.
 
Temps at 68f, its an english brown ale, and I used liquid Wyeast European Ale Yeast (i think thats the name), from the LHBS. Ill pop it open and check it out, this is only my 3rd brew, but the past 2 the airlock has been goin nuts, maybe the bucket has an air leak :D

P.S What is a Fussel?
 
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