Yeast pack arrived activated ..!

[Creepersale]

Just received a pale ale kit from Midwest and my wyeast has already been activated. I didnt plan on brewing until Saturday. Can I refrigerate it with it active ? Plus with summer heat I'm worried that I'll have a problem pitching it either way.

 

[paithian]

If it were me I would make a starter with that smack pack just to be safe

 

[CBXBob]

If it were me I would make a starter with that smack pack just to be safe

+1
Use the search, and do a starter, it will give the yeast something to do until you brew, and it's recommended with liquid yeasts.

 

[Creepersale]

Yea I thought about that. But I haven't made one before. Don't you need a pound of DME ! Plus I don't have anything to start it in.

 

[Creepersale]

Unless I just use my big measuring cup.

 

[paithian]

I do not have a flask or anything either I use a 2l soda bottle washed and star-san of course

 

[CBXBob]

you could do it in a milk/water jug.

 

[Creepersale]

I do have some one gallon glass jugs ??? Can I boil some dextrose if so how much, instead of DME ...

 

[onthekeg]

Its fine. Don't use dextrose, if its has swelled, you can leave it on your counter until Saturday. I would recommend a starter also, but you may be alright.

A little trick that works well, is on Saturday, brew your beer as usual, but put 1/2 gallon into your one gallon glass jug and put the rest into your sanitized fermenter.
Add your yeast to the glass jug before you put your wort in, shake it as much as you can and let it sit until morning. You will have a very active batch of yeast ready to be dumped into your fermenter when you wake up. (Put tinfoil over the top of the jug, don't cap it.)

 

[JoeBronco]

Dont confuse being activated with being swollen. If the inner pouch has not been poped then its not activated yet. wyeast has a few strains that do that. Check there site it does talk about having swollen unactivated packs.

 

[CBXBob]

Is your kit all grain? If not and you have LME, or DME, make a starter from that, it will all go in the same primary anyway. Using sugar (dextrose) is not advised, I understand from what I've read here.
Edit: And what onthekeg said.

 

[Creepersale]

Dont confuse being activated with being swollen. If the inner pouch has not been poped then its not activated yet. wyeast has a few strains that do that. Check there site it does talk about having swollen unactivated packs.

It was packed in a tight box I just assumed the inner pouch was popped. Its swelled enough that I can't feel one.

 

[Creepersale]

Is your kit all grain? If not and you have LME, or DME, make a starter from that, it will all go in the same primary anyway. Using sugar (dextrose) is not advised, I understand from what I've read here.
Edit: And what onthekeg said.

Lol. Its a partial kit so yes I do 6 pounds of lme haha. So if I were to open it and use a ( ? ) amount I don't need to worry, to much cause the rest will be boiled on sat.

 

[CBXBob]

Lol. Its a partial kit so yes I do 6 pounds of lme haha. So if I were to open it and use a ( ? ) amount I don't need to worry, to much cause the rest will be boiled on sat.

Like a quart. If it's in a sealed jug you probably don't even have to boil it, but as a precaution mix 50/50 with water, boil for 15 min. cool to 80 degrees, star san or whatever agent you use the smack pack, cut it open, empty contents into starter, if the inner pack is unbroken, cut it with sanitized sissors into the mix. Cover jug/container with tin foil, leave at room temperature, and by Saturday I'd bet you have a very active starter. I refrigerate my LME until the brew day, then warm it in a sink of hot water before adding to the boil, that way I get the biggest amount out and into the boil.
This of course is all just MHO. Anyone more experienced please chime in.
And an aside, as a fairly new brewer (almost a year) I've been choosing the dry yeast options, they are cheaper, less risk from heat/activation, and don't need starters, I do hydrate them in a cup of boiled, then cooled water, and my fermentation's take off like rockets. The dry/liquid question is for more advance brewers than me. I'm sure your brew is going to be great.

 

[kh54s10]

Check out your kit for the OG of the recipe. Then check out mrmalty.com for the recommended starter size. Then you can use the ratio of 10 to 1, that is 10 grams of DME to 1 ml of wort, so a 100ml (1 liter) starter takes 100 grams. Weight is more accurate than volume so using a scale to weigh out the DME is best.

Also it is pretty well accepted that a smack pack or vial does not contain enough yeast for optimally fermenting a 5 gallon batch. A starter is recommended every time you use liquid yeast in a batch of 5 gallons or more. (unless it is a very low gravity beer.)

 

[Creepersale]

Like a quart. If it's in a sealed jug you probably don't even have to boil it, but as a precaution mix 50/50 with water, boil for 15 min. cool to 80 degrees, star san or whatever agent you use the smack pack, cut it open, empty contents into starter, if the inner pack is unbroken, cut it with sanitized sissors into the mix. Cover jug/container with tin foil, leave at room temperature, and by Saturday I'd bet you have a very active starter. I refrigerate my LME until the brew day, then warm it in a sink of hot water before adding to the boil, that way I get the biggest amount out and into the boil.
This of course is all just MHO. Anyone more experienced please chime in.

Its my first partial sierra Nevada clone. It's a half gallon of lme. Specialty grains and hops planed on a 60 min boil.

 

[Creepersale]

Check out your kit for the OG of the recipe. Then check out mrmalty.com for the recommended starter size. Then you can use the ratio of 10 to 1, that is 10 grams of DME to 1 ml of wort, so a 100ml (1 liter) starter takes 100 grams. Weight is more accurate than volume so using a scale to weigh out the DME is best.

Also it is pretty well accepted that a smack pack or vial does not contain enough yeast for optimally fermenting a 5 gallon batch. A starter is recommended every time you use liquid yeast in a batch of 5 gallons or more. (unless it is a very low gravity beer.)

SG. 1.042-1.046. I do like the idea of a starter since the questionability of my smack pack ( first time using one ) so I should be fine by opening my lme and using some of it for my starter.

 

[CBXBob]

Half gallon = 6 pounds, use a cup of it for your starter. Kh54s10 is talking about DME (Dry malt extract) you are working with LME (liquid malt extract) so weighing may be difficult. The main thing is, you are giving the yeast a head start on the job ahead, by allowing them a place to grow into the numbers they need to work in 5 gallons, and you are working with yeast that may be already actively working before your ready to use them. So the starter serves two purposes, gives the yeast something to grow with till your brew day, and brings their numbers up to the job you will give them. And like I said, everything goes into the same primary. Your Pale Ale will be fine!

 

[onthekeg]

Half gallon = 6 pounds, use a cup of it for your starter. Kh54s10 is talking about DME (Dry malt extract) you are working with LME (liquid malt extract) so weighing may be difficult. The main thing is, you are giving the yeast a head start on the job ahead, by allowing them a place to grow into the numbers they need to work in 5 gallons, and you are working with yeast that may be already actively working before your ready to use them. So the starter serves two purposes, gives the yeast something to grow with till your brew day, and brings their numbers up to the job you will give them. And like I said, everything goes into the same primary. Your Pale Ale will be fine!

The bolded portion is what would happen if you pitched the yeast into 1/2 gallon overnight.

 

[JoeBronco]

Dont worry.... It happens all the time.

pre-inflated-smack-pack
smack-pack-gone-bad
can-i-save-my-yeast-swollen-unused-smack-pack
wyeast-smack-pack

 

[CBXBob]

The bolded portion is what would happen if you pitched the yeast into 1/2 gallon overnight.

onthekeg, meaning ? Good, not good?

 

[Creepersale]

Dont worry.... It happens all the time.

pre-inflated-smack-pack
smack-pack-gone-bad
can-i-save-my-yeast-swollen-unused-smack-pack
wyeast-smack-pack

Read up on it. And good advise. Out of curiosity I was moving and poking and so on. To the smack pack. Being that it is swelled up. I can feel a hard bubble in there. If I get it the right spot. So put in fridge and will try t o pop the bag somehow ?

 

[CBXBob]

You could sanitize a good sized zip lock baggie, place your smack pack in it before smacking, if the original package bursts, it will at least be contained within the sanitized baggie. Just a thought. Now back to the fact that liquid yeast should have a starter,

 

[malevolent]

Check out your kit for the OG of the recipe. Then check out mrmalty.com for the recommended starter size. Then you can use the ratio of 10 to 1, that is 10 grams of DME to 1 ml of wort, so a 100ml (1 liter) starter takes 100 grams. Weight is more accurate than volume so using a scale to weigh out the DME is best.

Also it is pretty well accepted that a smack pack or vial does not contain enough yeast for optimally fermenting a 5 gallon batch. A starter is recommended every time you use liquid yeast in a batch of 5 gallons or more. (unless it is a very low gravity beer.)

This

 

[JoeBronco]

Read up on it. And good advise. Out of curiosity I was moving and poking and so on. To the smack pack. Being that it is swelled up. I can feel a hard bubble in there. If I get it the right spot. So put in fridge and will try t o pop the bag somehow ?

Just make a starter with the yeast that's in the pack and add the nutrients from the pouch. Cut it open, pour in a growler or E.Myer Flask Be sure to sanitize everything. Use a stir plate if you can.

 

[onthekeg]

onthekeg, meaning ? Good, not good?

Good, it would be a starter of sorts. Thats what I do instead of making a dedicated starter.