First brew... I left my liquid yeast out for 5 full days in my apartment that's 72 degrees. Just brewed tonight and after pitching it, realized it was supposed to stay refrigerated that whole time. I smacked the pack and shook it, heard a little bit of fuzzing noise, but the pack didn't really expand like i was expecting. Currently in Primary fermentation... What should I do?
give it 24 hours, 48 absolute tops. if you get no/minimal bubbling in the airlock, it is possible the yeast viability dropped enough and you may have massively underpitched. you can always purchase a fresh pack and repitch after that. my guess though, is that it will be okay. yeast cells are tough little critters.
I assume you're talking about a Wyeast smack pack. The swelling would take a day or more to occur once you smack it, but the swelling is not necessary. It will tell you that your yeast is viable. If your apt wasn't overly hot (72 is OK) shake, open, and pitch - you'll be fine. Once you've got a few brews under your belt, consider making yeast starters (see howtobrew.com). Cheers, and welcome to the hobby!
When I first read the subject, I totally thought you were gonna say that you forgot to pitch the yeast...was preparing a reply along these lines..."pitch it"
Nothing to worry about here. Yeast naturally exist at ambient temperatures anyway. If they can survive being in your fermentor and bottles for weeks, they can stand to be in a pouch at room temperature for a few days.
OP update: I checked in the primary fermenter today after 48 hours of pitching and there was not one bubble of foam on top. So i bought a packet of dry yeast and pitched it immediately. Will check it in the morning...
I was going to say the same thing. Usually mine are puffed up within an hour or so, but I'm rarely using yeast that is more that 3-4 weeks old.
Wow. Many Belgian strains take a bit more time. Sour blends are not real quick starters. What f-ing strain was used here, how many times should I ask?
You probably right about the sour aspect. But my favorite Belgian strain (Ardennes) has taken more than 48 hours before...and this guy is repitching based on other posts, none of which seemed to be concerned with strain or other possible factors (pitching temp being another). Sorry for the hostility, just the way info was being presented was driving me nuts.
