Wyeast smack question
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SwivelHips
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Two ways to tell: you can feel around in the smack pack (from the outside, don't put your grimy mitts in there). If the pack hasn't begun to swell in an hour or so, it's probably not ruptured. Either way, it's okay to use.
Yeah, I figured it be ok, it's just I smacked and squeezed a couple of times and tried to feel around to see if it was broken. I did hear it squish around so i thought I did it, I was just surprised that there were two packs.
On a side note, the yeast smelled fantastic - Weihenstephan Weizen yeast
On a side note, the yeast smelled fantastic - Weihenstephan Weizen yeast
The same thing happened to me tonight on my first Wyeast. Only one was popped (more water-y one was not popped) when I pitched. I then cut the other one and dumped it in. Am I screwed? Will my beer not ferment now?
any thoughts or assistance greatly appreciated...
any thoughts or assistance greatly appreciated...
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The nutrient pack in a wyeast package is not at all necessary for fermentation, the idea is simply to rouse the yeast a little and give them a head start in reproducing. Kind of like making a very mini starter. You can pitch wyeast without smacking the pack at all.
In short, don't worry your beer will be fine.
The nutrient pack will just help the fermentation process along but not completely necessary. Sometimes the smack packs have 1 sometimes they have 2 nutrient packs in them, it seems to be completely random in my experience.
2005STi
Well-Known Member
The smack pack just acts as 1)mock yeast starter if you pop it and leave the packet out for the yeast to get started eating the nutrients in the packets 2) as viability test as dead yeast won't cause the bag to swell if you smack it well prior to pitching
LovesIPA
Well-Known Member
Just FYI.. If all you pitched was a single smack-pack worth of yeast, you underpitched by quite a bit. It will still be beer and taste OK, but the difference between an OK beer and a great beer is a proper yeast pitching rate. Use a calculator like the one at http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html or http://www.yeastcalc.com/indexupdate.html
I have just learned this recently myself. I built my stirplate yesterday and as soon as my 2L flask and stirbars arrive, I can start brewing again. Until then my mash paddle is lonely.
I have just learned this recently myself. I built my stirplate yesterday and as soon as my 2L flask and stirbars arrive, I can start brewing again. Until then my mash paddle is lonely.
After 2 1/2 weeks, I took a hydrometer reading and it has reached FG, So I would not worry about it, just keep an eye on it and remember to wait 48-72 hrs for signs of fermentation. If you don't have bubbles in the air lock, sniff around the lid, you might not have a tight seal. (This is what happened to me)
Thanks for the links. So it sounds like a quick start to fermentation is better? why is that, I would think that as long as you hit FG, even if it take a little longer, there wouldn't be an issue with quality.
LovesIPA
Well-Known Member
Because even if you're super careful about sanitizing, a couple of undesirable bugs are going to find their way into your wort. The process of aeration alone will allow airborne bacteria to infect your beer. The sooner the yeast start doing their business, the less time the other bugs have a chance to grab hold and contribute off-flavors. I.e. there will be a big difference in quality between pitching yeast right after cooling the wort and waiting a week.
Ahh...That makes sense, thanks.
{waves fist in air} Hey, you undesirable bugs, get out of my wort
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