Smack Pack

that packet inside isn't magic it just sugar and nutrients, easy to replicate, the real thing your looking for is yeast and its still there and will ferment just fine without that packet, it will just take a day or 2 longer
 
I get that, but it doesn't matter have much sugar and nutrients are in there if most of the yeast is dead of old age. Yours is the best answer I've got, but I still haven't heard if anyone has had a pack fail to swell but still perform well anyway.
 
yes, i smacked a pack of Scottish Ale three weeks ago that didn't turn into a balloon. We've had some packs that really swell huge, but I'd say it looked like half of that. It took off like normal and looked like it finished ferm in 9 days.
 
Sometimes they don't expand. Point is, all the stuff in the pounch. One could really not even bother with the "smack", just tear the sucker open and use the stuff. The whole expanding thing.... meh, whatever.
 
I totally agree with you. Like I said earlier, I usually use non-rehydrated dry yeast for pitching. But if the smack pack doesn't swell, to me it could indicate a problem with the yeast, like it's dead. That's what I'm asking. Anyway, I just checked, and I did see a bubble go through the airlock. I don't have much more krausen than I had 2 days ago. I'm considering letting this go without adding more yeast just to answer my own question.
 
jeffpn said:
I totally agree with you. Like I said earlier, I usually use non-rehydrated dry yeast for pitching. But if the smack pack doesn't swell, to me it could indicate a problem with the yeast, like it's dead. That's what I'm asking. Anyway, I just checked, and I did see a bubble go through the airlock. I don't have much more krausen than I had 2 days ago. I'm considering letting this go without adding more yeast just to answer my own question.
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Give the beer a roust as in rocking the vessel a rock back and forth a couple of times. Let that yeast know you expect it to propagate.
Funny, Scottish ale comes out of the pack slow with little swelling for me but the second time around from the cake it goes nuts quickly. Lagers take a while to swell but always at least get a little puffy. Always check the date. on yeast before you buy it. No different than checking the date on chicken, etc.
 
Yeah, my bad for not checking the date for sure. But it's supposed to be good for 6 months. I bought Kölsch yeast today for my Spotted Cow, and it was made the middle of last month. It swelled very nicely.
 
Kinda funny if ya think about it ... We go through all kinds of processes and ingredients and the obvious always comes up, fresh ingredients handled and stored properly are the way to make great beer, along with consistency. We order online, German malts for our Oktoberfest and have for 5 years. If we substituted grains (have played with hops and could tell) I bet we would notice.
Cheers!
 
This morning I woke to a full surface of krausen on the beer. I think it'll be ok. No supplemental pitching required.
 
Main reason to use the new White Labs yeast packs. Wonderful fermentations from all packs i've used so far. Usually starts in 4-6 hours, and hit target gravity in 3-4 days.
 
I've had most of my Wyeast packs swell up like balloons. I one not swell and work just fine. I had another not swell and did *nothing*. I was making a starter anyway, so that didn't screw me up too bad, but 72 hours in a starter and ZERO fermentation. The LHBS replaced it for free and took up the guarantee from Wyeast on my behalf.

On Friday, I pitched a 4 month old Wyeast pack of 4184 four hours post-smack with no swell into a cider. As of this morning (~60 hours), I *FINALLY* have reasonably steady bubbles in the airlock. (Yes, i added yeast nutrient). The line I usually give it is 72 hours, and always make a starter. (I skipped this starter this time because it's a cider and didn't want any possibility of malt products in it so that my super-gluten-sensitive friends can't complain when I serve it to them.)
 
I took it from one extreme to the other. While the first smack pack is finally showing signs of life in the lager, the smack pack I pitched in the ale yesterday blew through the air lock. It made a bit of a mess under my workbench. I actually knew something was up when I opened the door to go downstairs. I immediately smelled beer. The carboy is around a couple of corners from the bottom of the stairs in another room. The bobble and the cap for the airlock are MIA. There's a nice little splash mark underneath my workbench just above the carboy. I wonder how long it was plugged before the airlock blew off. I didn't really lose much volume, so that's a good thing.
 
jeffpn said:
I took it from one extreme to the other. While the first smack pack is finally showing signs of life in the lager, the smack pack I pitched in the ale yesterday blew through the air lock. It made a bit of a mess under my workbench. I actually knew something was up when I opened the door to go downstairs. I immediately smelled beer. The carboy is around a couple of corners from the bottom of the stairs in another room. The bobble and the cap for the airlock are MIA. There's a nice little splash mark underneath my workbench just above the carboy. I wonder how long it was plugged before the airlock blew off. I didn't really lose much volume, so that's a good thing.
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The Kolsch i put down 48 hours ago is charging along too , i don't use carboys or blow off tubes but that 2565 has dropped it from 1.048 to 1.022 in 2 days .
 
LlewellynBrewHaus said:
Since Nosy is still sat asleep I'll jump in here and point out that at 110 days old ur smack pack was potentially 80% dead leaving only 23 M cells for fermentation (325 M short) ; leading to the lack of swelling prepitch and sluggish start post pitch. I would be rehydrating a pack of dry yeast to get fermentation up on the big sprocket .
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I'm awake - spent a week or so in Western Kentucky without Internet. But thanks!
 
I've been to Paducah. Why didn't you stop by my house? Only 5 1/2 hours away! :D
 
quickly on the smack pack, has anyone accidentally let the little condom fall into the fermenter? And, are there are down sides to this?
 
It must be sterile. Don't get it caught in your valve or racking cane!
 
If it's sterile, how do you get the little baby beers.... but I agree with Jeffpn: It's sterile, as long as you don't get it caught in something or plugging up an outlet, you're fine.
 
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