Wyeast Fail

[shocker]

I moved back to the country to get away from all the inner city vice and problems.....and I come here and its all "smack" this and "smack" that and "crack" open a bottle..... :shock: :?

anyway , back on planet earth ......

I always make a starter with yeasts now , I never pitch straight (!!?) , always prove them first reckons I :thumb:

I have no experience of these new fangled preparations so my comments arent worth a whole lot , even so it does sound like these things are a bit of a gamble and that you got a bad one . Im glad to hear its up and going now though ! :

 

[zgoda]

I checked the date, and it was over 6 months old already, though I only received it last week. It was also not cooled in any way in the post. I foolishly assumed the instructions were right; I won't make that mistake again.

Not that they lie, they're just... bit too optimistic about their yeast.

 

[Gaffers]

I always make starter if the package is more than 3-4 months old. In fact, I succesfully used packages as old as 15-18 months, always with 1.5 litre starter.

Then what's the point of using a smack pack if you have to then use a starter? The packs say it can be used up to 6 months after packaging. The whole point of the smack pack is it should be fire (smack) and forget until you need to pitch it. Evidently it is far from that.

Having had one bad experience I will likely never go back back. Mine did start in the end but not before ruining the beer. A brew day wasted.

I now use either fresh from the Hog's Back or dried yeast both made with a starter ;-)

 

[zgoda]

I always make starter if the package is more than 3-4 months old. In fact, I succesfully used packages as old as 15-18 months, always with 1.5 litre starter.

Then what's the point of using a smack pack if you have to then use a starter? The packs say it can be used up to 6 months after packaging. The whole point of the smack pack is it should be fire (smack) and forget until you need to pitch it. Evidently it is far from that.

Right, that's not the point in my case. :)

This is related to specific liquid yeast market here in Poland. Except for one shop that sell Zymoferm yeast (like WLP, only much cheaper), the only option is Wyeast. If I want good hefeweizen or belgian yeast, I have no other option than to buy Wyeast smack pack. Sometimes shops sell outdated packages super-cheap, at a price of 1 fresh package I can buy 2 or 3 and then make starter. Not a bad trade.