Wyeast Pack Didn't Swell

[Mexibilly]

Pulled Belgian Abbey smack pack out of the fridge last night, warmed up to room temp, popped, shook well and it hasn't swelled 14 hours later. Manufacture date is Nov 11, 2014. 3 months old. Just arrived 2 days ago and went to the fridge within a few hours. Temp outside on shipping day was maybe 45.
It appears to have swollen a tiny bit, but hard to determine.
Brewing tomorrow at around 4 pm. I had hoped to make a starter before today's adventure begins, as I won't be home until 10 or 11pm.
Go ahead and pitch to starter now?
Wait till tonite, see if the activity has improved and make the starter late?
Is 16 hours sufficient time for the yeast to propogate?
If I pitch it now with nutrient will it likely recover if it's going to?

 

[kh54s10]

Make the starter. The nutrient pack is just to energize the yeast, they should produce co2 and swell the pack but it doesn't always happen.

Take into account the age of the pack when deciding on the size of starter you need.

Have a back up plan in case the starter does not go.

 

[beergolf]

Make the starter.

That yeast is famous for being a slow starter, so be patient and it should be fine if you make the starter.

 

[Mexibilly]

Thanks guys. I probably won't brew that one til Sunday. We'll be at Jungle Jim's in 30 minutes. Hope to get a couple of larger starter vessels and a couple pounds DME.

 

[Auger]

Wyeast packs don't always swell up completely full, but when in doubt...make the starter.

 

[cobrem]

To piggyback on beergolf's comment, it's a really slow starter. Like "make you freak out" slow starter. I used this once. Great yeast, but took 3 days to get a krausen going.

 

[beergolf]

To piggyback on beergolf's comment, it's a really slow starter. Like "make you freak out" slow starter. I used this once. Great yeast, but took 3 days to get a krausen going.

Yes, The first time I used it I did a starter and by morning nothing happened. I thought it was dead. It took until the next day to show signs of fermentation. Now I don't freak out if it is slow. I just know that it will start up and do it's job. Nice yeast with good flavor, just a little quirky.

I guess all Belgian yeasts have their own quirks. 3787 is exactly the opposite. Starts off fast like a rocket, but takes forever to finish up. You really have to learn them to brew with them.

 

[ncoutroulis]

Pulled Belgian Abbey smack pack out of the fridge last night, warmed up to room temp, popped, shook well and it hasn't swelled 14 hours later. Manufacture date is Nov 11, 2014. 3 months old. Just arrived 2 days ago and went to the fridge within a few hours. Temp outside on shipping day was maybe 45.
It appears to have swollen a tiny bit, but hard to determine.
Brewing tomorrow at around 4 pm. I had hoped to make a starter before today's adventure begins, as I won't be home until 10 or 11pm.
Go ahead and pitch to starter now?
Wait till tonite, see if the activity has improved and make the starter late?
Is 16 hours sufficient time for the yeast to propogate?
If I pitch it now with nutrient will it likely recover if it's going to?

i had the same issue with that same yeast. took 3 full days for it to start fermenting.