Wyeast Smack Pack - 24 hrs and no swelling

[jeremybwilson]

Or very little to say the least.

Using a Wyeast Weihenstephan 3068 activator pack purchased with an NB Bavarian Hefeweizen kit. Manufacture date reads 7/8/14.

Took it out of the fridge yesterday around 10am and smacked.

Taking into account directions on the back of the packet, I still didn't expect to see swelling in under three hours but then five past by and nothing noticeable.

By 8pm last last night I gave up on cooking the wort and figured why not give the yeast at least 24 hours. From other threads here the lack of immediate activation/swelling doesn't sound all that uncommon.

With one brew day lost and still no significant swelling now almost 24 hours later I'm wondering if I should consider going to the local HBS and picking up another smack pack or the appropriate dry yeast packet.

This is my fifth extract kit but my first liquid/smack pack yeast kit.

Besides purchasing another packet to replace, what are my options?

Should I be giving it another 1-2 days still to see the pack fully swell?

Is a smack pack something that can be opened up and made a starter out of instead of just pitching directly?

The experience so far is at least partially causing me to understand where the 'make your own yeast starters' camp is coming from...

 

[helibrewer]

Use it, it is just a nutrient pack. If you are making a 5 gal batch with an SG of about 1.050 or less you are ok but will probable have a slow start to your fermentation. There is no harm at all, and probably beneficial, to pitch a second pack anyway to give yourself a better pitch rate.


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[smiffbrewing]

I would open it up and give it a sniff...if it smells suspect, dump it. If it smells nice and yeasty i would make a starter and build up the count before pitching.

 

[flars]

Always plan on making at least a one step starter with liquid yeast. Given the production date of your liquid yeast, viability is only 33%.

 

[soupfist]

If you have another 1-2 days to wait around to see if the pack will swell, you might as well make a starter. Add 3 oz of DME to a liter of boiling water, pour it into a bottle or flask, cool it to about room temperature, pour the pack in, cover it in sanitized foil, shake vigorously. I use 3086 all the time and it usually is done eating a 1L starter within 24 hrs, although I let it sit around longer than that.

After the starter has been doing it's thing for a few hours, give it a good shake or two - it should foam up a lot when you agitate the yeast. If little or nothing happens, then yeah, you got some crap yeast and then you'll have something to take back to the LHBS.

 

[jeremybwilson]

Just wanted to follow up and report that Northern Brewers customer service is second to no one. They rock.