Whats with my Wyeast?

[Weslhoff2000]

The bag was already inflated upon arrival, I decided to use it anyway, and then i also noticed when opening the package that the nutrient bag hadn't peen broken.

Is this a bad thing??

 

[Skyforger]

I wouldn't use it, if I had any other options. It may be fine; nutrient may have gotten in the main pouch somehow, but you don't want to throw infected yeast in the batch based on that supposition.

Incidentally, how much inflation are we talking here? If it was just a bit, that could just be a bit more air in the package than normal.

 

[Weslhoff2000]

it was fully inflated

 

[Skyforger]

Okay, do you have any other yeasts sitting around? What kind of yeast were you trying to pitch, and what style of beer are you making?

It's a good idea to keep some neutral 'all-purpose' dry yeasts about in case of such emergencies. US-05 for American ales, Nottingham for British, decent lager and belgian yeasts also exist dry.

 

[Weslhoff2000]

It was wyeast 1056 american ale, i pitched it into a partial mash speckled heifer (cream ale)

 

[Skyforger]

Well, if it's already pitched there's only so much to be done. You could do something drastic and try to kill everything in there and repitch, but honestly I would just leave it. There will almost certainly be much more viable yeast in the pack than anything else, and it should dominate the fermentation. If the pack was infected, you may get long-term stability issues, but likely not much more....

Incidentally, wyeast 1056 is the same strain as the dry yeast US-05. Liquid yeast is good if you need a specific specialty strain, but if you just need an american ale yeast, the dry form is cheaper and lasts much longer in the refrigerator.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Did it look and smell normal when you pitched? If so, then you are fine. People on this forum are so quick to suggest infection when there is absolutely no sign of infection.

 

[sparkyaber]

I see wyeast 1056 expand all of the time without the smack pack being ruptured. In fact the that was the first thing that popped into my head, "I bet it is 1056." I am sure it will be fine.

 

[ajf]

See http://www.wyeastlab.com/faqs.cfm question 27.

You did exactly what I would have done.

-a.

 

[Revvy]

Although AJf's link is wrong, he's right. It happens often. There's plenty of threads on here similar to yours and the advice is the same, pitch it and relax.