Dead smack pack ?

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SMP Brewery said:
So it’s sort of bubbling but not with any vigour, so to be on the safe side I’ve been out and bought 2 packets of W-34/70.
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Mine is still lifeless. Unlike its stand-in. I've got 24 litres in a 30 litre Burco (never thought of using it for an FV until this week) and I lifted the lid and the krausen is nearly to the top.

I'm going to give it the weekend before decided whether I'm just going to dump it or use it as a starter mixture for the half pack of Verdant.
 
Twostage said:
I'm going to give it the weekend before decided whether I'm just going to dump it or use it as a starter mixture for the half pack of Verdant.
Click to expand...
I’m not confident enough to use it this weekend so I think I’ll use the packets and then decant this into a kilner and put in the fridge, then I’ll just have to remember to build it ip over a good few days when I come to use it.
 
Twostage said:
Mine is still lifeless. Unlike its stand-in. I've got 24 litres in a 30 litre Burco (never thought of using it for an FV until this week) and I lifted the lid and the krausen is nearly to the top.

I'm going to give it the weekend before decided whether I'm just going to dump it or use it as a starter mixture for the half pack of Verdant.
Click to expand...

Well lookie here :-

IMG_6681.jpg


Little clumps of bubbles after 4 days. Might be viable by Tuesday.
 
The-Engineer-That-Brews said:
Question is, is that the yeast from the smack pack, or some wild strain of yeast or bacteria that's discovered the wort...?
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That is on my mind too. It should be sterile though. I'll be checking in on it later today. If it is more lively I'll see what it smells like.
 
Twostage said:
That is on my mind too. It should be sterile though. I'll be checking in on it later today. If it is more lively I'll see what it smells like.
Click to expand...
Totally agree - although I think if it were me, I’d probably shell out for fresh yeast wink...
I don’t really know but I should think it’s almost impossible for us to maintain sterile conditions as home brewers for long after boiling, given the almost universal presence of airborne spores and dust particles. Probably what saves us is that we pitch (biologically speaking) so many active, healthy cells of a given culture that they completely win the race to dominate the growing medium, and crowd out all the nasties before they get a foothold.
 
TMM are where I get almost all my stuff, and I really like their service athumb..
I’ve used about 50/50 white labs and Wyeast (smack pack), and occasionally Omega, and I’m not particularly fussed about the smack packs - I find the way they swell up gives me a bit of extra reassurance that the yeast is alive… but equally I don’t think the fermentations get going any faster, and I’m always a little concerned that the empty nutrient sachet might end up in the FV!
 
Against my better judgement I decided to use my starter instead of the dried yeast as it had bubbled away quite aggressively Friday Night & Saturday.

I was regretting that decision as after over 48hrs there was no activity.. But it is now bubbling away this morning... Phew.
 
Last edited:
Good news Brewfather gives a finished gravity of 1.013 and it’s currently at that and I can’t see anymore activity.
That’s 1.050 to 1.013 in 9 days, did a saison and it went from 1,050 to 1.010 in 24 hrs!
 

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