Wyeast 3056 Slow after initial Potassium metabisulfate

[bkloos]

Hey Guys,

I added 1/4 tsp to my 6 gallons of unpasteurized cider, waited 24 hours and then threw in a slightly swollen pack of Wyeast 3056. 20 hours later there is no activity. Temps are at 69F. The Wyeast pack was dated May 15th...

Any thoughts?

 

[stella_tigre]

Maybe give it a good stir or two, make sure the yeast has some good oxy and the sulfites are bound up. Give it another day or so.

 

[bkloos]

Still no action... I'm starting to think the yeast pack was pushing its shelf life, as it was 4+ months old and did not swell.

I'll swing over to the LHBS today and request a new pack and give it a pitch.

The sister batch of the same juice with a little more sugar (both treated with Potassium Metabisulfate) is roaring now with LAvlin QA23. It's gotta be the yeast....

 

[bkloos]

So, I bought another pack of the same yeast. Pitched it Friday afternoon.
Yesterday there was a film of yeast on the surface of with some slow bubbling in the airlock, maybe 1 bubble every 10 seconds. I'll see if things speed up over the next day and grab a hygrometer reading and report back...

So strange.