Was planning on brewing Sunday night and activated my yeast starter. Ended up with too many people and too many beers to brew. I placed the starter in the fridge to try to slow the yeast down a bit but was wondering if this pack will be fine to use for brewing tomorrow night or should I go buy a new one? Thanks, Jay
What are you brewing, how old is the pack (date packaged)and what is the starting gravity? -FYI you can make a starter. I always make a starter for just about every brew.
I am brewing a Northern Brewer Dead Ringer IPA (my 4th batch homebrewing so quite a rookie here). The pack quickly swelled and looks about to burst at any second so think its nice and healthy in there. I saw people talking about a starter in other threads about the packs so something I might look into for the future.
I'm not sure from reading this, but it sounds like you may be confusing a SmackPack with a yeast starter. The SmackPack is not a starter. It contains a tiny amount of sugars, and is designed to tell you (by swelling) that there are live yeast. A yeast starter is when you add the yeast you have to a much larger volume of starter wort (which you make yourself from DME) to increase the number of yeast cells.
The answer to your question in on the Wyeast website FAQ: 8. I popped the inner nutrient pouch and the package swelled tight but I can’t use it right away. What do I do? If you have activated a package but can’t use it right away, simply allow the package to swell and then refrigerate the package. The yeast will survive for extended periods if refrigerated. Before using, take the package out of the refrigerator and allow it to come up to room temperature before using. It is best to use the yeast as soon as possible. Cheers!
Oops, I did a google search but didn't even think of checking the manufacturer's site... I guess I trust everyone here more than Wyeast. Thanks!
As I may have said before, I haven't had a hobby yet where the collected knowledge of the hobbyists wasn't greater than the knowledge of the suppliers. In this case, the advice from Wyeast is pretty good, though I would argue that the part about it being best to use the yeast as soon as possible applies to any package of yeast, and not just to yeast that has been very temporarily warmed up. And the fact that the pack has already been smacked shouldn't really affect its shelf life any further.
The folks at Wyeast are very knowledgeable and very willing to help homebrewers. Greg Doss and Jess Caudill are microbiologists who know their craft. Fell free to contact either one of them if you have questions with Wyeast products (or using beer yeast in general). Cheers!
The folks on this forum are very knowledgeable and very willing to help homebrewers. Many are award winning homebrewers, pro brewers, authors, and/or brewing tool developers who know their craft. Feel free to contact any of them if you have questions with Wyeast products (or using beer yeast in general). (See what I did there?) You'll figure out pretty quickly who knows their stuff.
