Wyeast

[Zachandlutz]

I am new to homebrewing and tried the Wyeast smack pack for a batch I brewed yesterday. I thought I had broken the pack properly to activate the yeast but when I poured the yeast into the wort, I realized that the pack was unbroken and it was in my wort. Not wanting to contaminate the batch, I put the lid on the fermenter and let it sit over night in hopes I could contact a more competent brewer. Will the beer still ferment without the pack being broken and if it is in the wort?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Yep. You'll be fine. The pack just gets the yeast woken up. Like proofing in baking. Wyeast says it's not necessary, and the pack won't hurt your beer at all.

You may see a slightly longer lag. But you may not even see that.

 

[Kickass]

I haven’t used Wyeast in a while, because I hated trying to break that stupid inner pack without exploding yeast all over the place.

The sanitized pack swimming in your work will not hurt anything. I’d be content just letting it enjoy the ride.

What’s in that pack, I believe, are additional nutrients to get the yeast going. If your pitch rate was enough (I’m not too familiar with cell count on those bags, as they’ve gone through a few packaging modifications since the last one I used 10 years ago) you should be ok. Maybe a little slower to start fermenting but I imagine if you sanitized properly you’ll have beer in 7-10 days.

FWIW, dry yeast seems to be discredited a little more than it should. Unless I need a very special strain that only come in liquid form, I exclusively use dry yeast. I like the higher cell count, longer shelf life and cheaper cost.

 

[VikeMan]

If your pitch rate was enough (I’m not too familiar with cell count on those bags, as they’ve gone through a few packaging modifications since the last one I used 10 years ago) you should be ok.

This statement would also apply if he had broken the pouch. There's not enough sugar in it to increase cell count signifcantly (if at all). You probably know that, but I didn't want @Zachandlutz to think he missed out on something regarding pitch rate by not breaking the pouch.

 

[Kickass]

@VikeMan, yes thanks for pointing that out. What I meant was, if you have enough healthy yeast, that little pack probably isn’t going to do much of anything. If under pitching, and yeast are not healthy, then that packet may be more significant.

 

[VikeMan]

If under pitching, and yeast are not healthy, then that packet may be more significant.

Maybe. Personally, I think some folks have unwarranted faith in that very small amount of liquid containing a (necessarily) miniscule amount of unspecified nutrients. When I use Wyeast, I don't even bother smacking anymore.

 

[Kickass]

Personally, I think some folks have unwarranted faith in that very small amount of liquid containing a (necessarily) miniscule amount of unspecified nutrients.

The nihilist in me agrees. It seems a little gimmicky to me. Marketing to be different. (All from a non Wyeast user however)

 

[kartracer2]

The nihilist in me agrees. It seems a little gimmicky to me. Marketing to be different. (All from a non Wyeast user however)

Could all be true but if the inner bag is "smacked" and the outer starts getting fat at least you know "some" yeasties are active. That's my .02 worth,,,
Cheers,
Joel B.