Wyeast 3068 4 Days Before Best by Date

[Skeeternst]

Hi Everyone!
I'm planning a brew day for this Saturday and stopped by my LHBS to pick up some yeast. I chose Wyeast 3068 (Activator Pack) for the Hefeweizen but noticed that it's best by date is actually is just a few days away!

Up to this point I've really only used dry yeasts, and have made low to moderate gravity beers, so never stressed making a starter. The yeast starter calculators I've found online seem to assume a very aggressive drop in viability around the 6 month mark (what I'm assuming is the age of this yeast) , most even assuming 0% viability. My only worry is that these calculator's assumptions might be a little outdated and a bit too aggressive. Since I've never made a starter I wouldn't want to over do it and end up pitching too much on a style that seems to benefit from even being "underpitched".

Does anyone have experience with these Wyeast Smack Packs, and their effectiveness at this age? Original plan was to just use the one pack on the 5 gallon batch, with no starter.

Thanks for the help!

 

[DuncB]

I'd activate the pack and then after a few hours put it into a starter.

Make it about 1000ml gravity 1.035 and add yeast nutrient and put it somewhere warm or cool depending on temperatures you are experiencind. 25C is about right.

Shake / swirl the bottle/ jar that the starter is in every time you go by.

If the yeast doesn't kick off in time you'll either need to wait or go back to a dry yeast.

Risky to pitch it without doing this.

 

[Skeeternst]

Thanks for the advice man, will do!

 

[micraftbeer]

Depends on your gravity, volume of beer, and if you're fermenting at the low end of its temperature range it towards the top. If it's low gravity, small batch, or near the top of the generator range, maybe you can get away without a starter. But I've definitely found when I get close to that best by date it gets iffy. And I've learned it's frustratingly dumb to put in all the effort making great wort and then screw it up by cutting corners on setting the yeast up for success.

That said, Hefeweizen yeast in particular is said to give very different character if you under pitch or over pitch. So maybe read up on that, and if you're after the flavor character of under pitch, maybe just give it a go as is. But be patient for it to start, because it will take longer.

 

[Skeeternst]

Depends on your gravity, volume of beer, and if you're fermenting at the low end of its temperature range it towards the top. If it's low gravity, small batch, or near the top of the generator range, maybe you can get away without a starter. But I've definitely found when I get close to that best by date it gets iffy. And I've learned it's frustratingly dumb to put in all the effort making great wort and then screw it up by cutting corners on setting the yeast up for success.

That said, Hefeweizen yeast in particular is said to give very different character if you under pitch or over pitch. So maybe read up on that, and if you're after the flavor character of under pitch, maybe just give it a go as is. But be patient for it to start, because it will take longer.

I do love a good punch of banana which from what I read is a byproduct of underpitching and warm fermentation temps. I've never made a starter before though so I'll give it a go tomorrow and and keep y'all posted on how it goes!

 

[DuncB]

No harm in letting it kick off in the package today and then make the starter tomorrow.

 

[Skeeternst]

No harm in letting it kick off in the package today and then make the starter tomorrow.

I smacked it and shook like crazy about 5 hrs ago, doesn't seem like much has happened other than hearing it fizz at the start. Gonna see if it inflates with more time and can make my starter late tonight if I see activity. If nothing gets going though my midnight you think I should buy some more yeast?

 

[rmr9]

I smacked it and shook like crazy about 5 hrs ago, doesn't seem like much has happened other than hearing it fizz at the start. Gonna see if it inflates with more time and can make my starter late tonight if I see activity. If nothing gets going though my midnight you think I should buy some more yeast?

I think that’s reasonable. You could check by midnight, if it’s chugging along great, if not plan on picking some up tomorrow. That does also give you the chance to check in the morning and if it’s ramped up tomorrow morning I would even pitch that actively fermenting starter

 

[IslandLizard]

Using liquid yeast, there are a few reasons to make a starter a few days to a week ahead of brewing/pitching time.

Making a starter well ahead of time proves:
a) Viability,
b) Rejuvenates by growing many new cells, and
c) By "overbuilding" you can save some out to make a new starter from in the future.

At $14-18 for a pack of yeast, I wouldn't hesitate to make sure it works, plus save some out for future use, again and again. Using that method, I'm still using liquid yeast I bought in 2013.

Please read up about making a starter (we have many threads on that), and evaluate whether it's advantageous to hold off on brewing (and pitching) tomorrow, and move it to next weekend. That gives you a week to make a (large) starter.
You may then be able to pitch half to 3/4 of it and save out the remainder to make a new starter from for a next brew day, etc.

I recommend reading up on the the "Shaken, not Stirred" (s-n-s) method. It's easy, and only requires a 1/2 or 1 gallon jug (growler). Or in a pinch, just a 2 liter soda bottle.
Use excellent sanitation, of course, you don't want to propagate "bugs."

For reference, here's a yeast pitch calculator:
http://www.brewunited.com/yeast_calculator.php

 

[Skeeternst]

Using liquid yeast, there are a few reasons to make a starter a few days to a week ahead of brewing/pitching time.

Making a starter well ahead of time proves:
a) Viability,
b) Rejuvenates by growing many new cells, and
c) By "overbuilding" you can save some out to make a new starter from in the future.

At $14-18 for a pack of yeast, I wouldn't hesitate to make sure it works, plus save some out for future use, again and again. Using that method, I'm still using liquid yeast I bought in 2013.

Please read up about making a starter (we have many threads on that), and evaluate whether it's advantageous to hold off on brewing (and pitching) tomorrow, and move it to next weekend. That gives you a week to make a (large) starter.
You may then be able to pitch half to 3/4 of it and save out the remainder to make a new starter from for a next brew day, etc.

I recommend reading up on the the "Shaken, not Stirred" (s-n-s) method. It's easy, and only requires a 1/2 or 1 gallon jug (growler). Or in a pinch, just a 2 liter soda bottle.
Use excellent sanitation, of course, you don't want to propagate "bugs."

For reference, here's a yeast pitch calculator:
http://www.brewunited.com/yeast_calculator.php

Awesome, thank you for the tips! I got home tonight around 9:00 ish and the yeast packet actually ended up swelling a good amount. I waited another hour and decided to throw it into a 1 liter starter. I'm brewing with a buddy tomorrow so I'm going to try and squeeze it in tomorrow,.will let you guys all know how fermentation looks in a couple days.

Next time I will definitely plan ahead for my starter!

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm going to try and squeeze it in tomorrow

Don't forget to oxygenate, or at least thoroughly aerate, your chilled wort before (or right after) pitching the yeast!
Yeast needs oxygen to grow ample new cells, those are going to do the hard work of fermenting your batch to completion.

 

[Skeeternst]

Update for everyone, I ended up brewing a porter on Saturday, and pushed the hefeweizen to Sunday. The Wyeast 3068 starter seemed to take and as of this morning is bubbling away! Thank you for all the help, will let you know it turns out.