Wyeast Activator shipped expanded.

[ThePoShow]

So I ordered an Amber Ale kit from Midwest supplies about a month ago and went with the Wyeast Activator Smack Pack (American Ale). When it arrived, the package was fully expanded and Midwest told me not to worry and just keep it in the fridge and you will be good. The package has not gone down in swelling much. I'm not able to use the smack pack inside because of this, will I be ok to use this strand of use?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Denny]

Not a problem. Just cut it open (carefully, there's pressure in there!) and make your starter. You don't even need to worry about the nutrient pouch inside.

 

[ThePoShow]

If I don't do the starter and just pitch the yeast, what are the cons of doing so?

 

[Denny]

If I don't do the starter and just pitch the yeast, what are the cons of doing so?[/QUOTE

Poor fermentation and beer flavor that's less than the best it could be. IMO, you should always make a starter for any beer over 1.040 OG.

 

[duboman]

If you ordered the pack a month ago, what is the date on the package, probably older. This means the total viability is way less than ideal for direct pitching and I would definitely make a starter as you should for all liquid yeast. this will do two things: ensure the yeast is healthy and build up the proper pitching rate.

Making a starter is easy. Go to http://www.yeastcalc.com orhttp://www.mrmalty.com. Both sites will tell you how to make a starter as well as what pitching rate you need for your beer.

 

[biochemedic]

I'm not sure why this happens, but I've heard of it from more than one source (if you do a search, there are other threads like this one). This problem actually led my LHBS to stop carrying Wyeast. Every shipment they got from them, a significant number of the packets were swollen like this, and couldn't be sold. As the story was told to me, the shop approached Wyeast about it and was basically told "F-U, it's your problem, not ours." Between that, and apparently having a fairly low sales margin on Wyeast, they decided to go exclusively to White Labs...