Yeast Smell?

[memphomaniac]

Can you describe how White Labs California Ale WLP001 is supposed to smell when the vial is opened? Would you say sour, or more of a clean aroma, or maybe something completely different? I'm totally chillaxed, not worried, and if I had a homebrew, I would be sucking it down.

 

[Blender]

Well it certainly should not smell sour. I would describe is a intense yeast odor. The vials have a "use by date" on them if you are worried.

 

[memphomaniac]

Thanks for the feedback. AHS shipped it from Austin on Thursday with a cold pack. It sat in New Orleans over the weekend, and then I got it in Florida on Tuesday. Put it in the fridge, took it out Saturday afternoon, and then pitched it Sunday when I brewed. Smelled sour, but I'm new so what do I know. No fermentation action by tonight (Tuesday). I wrote AHS, and they gave me a credit for a replacement yeast the next time I order, which I'm happy with. I threw in a packet of Safale US-05, and my Two Hearted Clone is bubbling away happily.

I have a White Labs Barvarian Hefeweizen that I was planning to pitch some time this week. I reckon I'll try a starter to make sure it's okay.

 

[Blender]

Those spare packs of dry yeast do come inhandy when the local shop is not available. Good Luck on the brew.

 

[HuggerOrange]

Just to revive this thread, I pitched a vile of WLP001 today that smelled sour. It's a month before the date on the vile and it fizzed when I unscrewed the top. Bought at the LHBS and immediately put it in the fridge, so it never was exposed to heat on my end. I went on the White Labs website and saw where someone had posted about sour smell and taste to yeast and Chris White says it's fine and due to the pH in the slurry the yeast is put in. Now with that said, I'm still worried. Any thoughts.