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Main
Date: 13 Nov 2006 04:07:26
From: Eric Scantlebury
Subject: Wyeast activator - slow activation
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Hello All,
I smacked a wyeast scottish ale smack pack (activator) at 2:00 pm est today.
Contrary to my 3 other experiences with Wyeast activators that activated and
puffed full within 3 hours this pack is only half full 9 hours later. Now,
the other 3 were 1056 so my first question, is this "typical" of the
Scottish variety? Secondly, if I leave this overnight and it "puffs" full
am I safe to use it to pitch tomorrow if I brew? Or shojld I consider this
a bad pack and buy a new one?
TIA,
Eric
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Date: 13 Nov 2006 08:33:24
From: The Artist Formerly Known as Kap'n Salty
Subject: Re: Wyeast activator - slow activation
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Eric Scantlebury wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I smacked a wyeast scottish ale smack pack (activator) at 2:00 pm est today.
> Contrary to my 3 other experiences with Wyeast activators that activated and
> puffed full within 3 hours this pack is only half full 9 hours later. Now,
> the other 3 were 1056 so my first question, is this "typical" of the
> Scottish variety? Secondly, if I leave this overnight and it "puffs" full
> am I safe to use it to pitch tomorrow if I brew? Or shojld I consider this
> a bad pack and buy a new one?
The time a pack takes to swell up will vary by strain and package age --
but mostly by package age. Note, however, that WYeast now says that the
packets don't need to be fully inflated prior to use (I think, anyway --
check the instructions). I've seen older packs take a number of days to
swell up, but still ended up usable.
In any case, I'd highly recommend using a starter. This will allow you
to build up healthy cell count prior to pitching, which is important
with all beers, but particularly so with cleaner styles, such as
Scottish ales. Use a liter or so for 5 gallons of a low-to-normal
gravity ale.
--
(Replies: cleanse my address of the Mark of the Beast!)
Teleoperate a roving mobile robot from the web:
http://www.swampgas.com/robotics/rover.html
Coauthor with Dennis Clark of "Building Robot Drive Trains".
Buy several copies today!
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Date: 15 Nov 2006 18:46:18
From: alebrewer
Subject: Re: Wyeast activator - slow activation
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Eric Scantlebury wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I smacked a wyeast scottish ale smack pack (activator) at 2:00 pm est today.
> Contrary to my 3 other experiences with Wyeast activators that activated and
> puffed full within 3 hours this pack is only half full 9 hours later. Now,
> the other 3 were 1056 so my first question, is this "typical" of the
> Scottish variety? Secondly, if I leave this overnight and it "puffs" full
> am I safe to use it to pitch tomorrow if I brew? Or shojld I consider this
> a bad pack and buy a new one?
>
>
> TIA,
>
> Eric
I am not sure I've ever used the strain your referring to, but I have
noticed that different yeast strains will behave very differently. I
would doubt that this is the whole reason for the different behavior
you are noticing, but it could be contributing. You should remember
this when your beer is fermenting, too, since the fermentation will
likely behave differently than the 1056 your accustomed to.
I certianly wouldn't consider it a bad pack if it is "half full 9 hours
later". The yeast is obviously active. The amount and rate of "puff"
can be dependent on several variables (yeast health, temperature, yeast
strain, to name a few). Having it puff quickly doesn't really mean you
have a lot of active yeast, either, only that a lot of CO2 has been
produced (which can be accomplished with a small amount of active yeast
relatively quickly under the right conditions).
Yeah, you should make a starter (it will improve the consistancy of
your results), but I'd guess the reason you bought the Activator pack
was to avoid that. If you don't make a starter, areate well and you
should be OK. Particularly with the White Lab tubes or Activator packs
pitched directly, and even with small starters, a high level of
oxygenation is needed to promote a large and healthy yeast population
so that proper fermentation can occur. Whether that population is
produced in a seperate starter or in your fermentor is really up to
you.
ab
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Date: 15 Nov 2006 22:46:56
From: John 'Shaggy' Kolesar
Subject: Re: Wyeast activator - slow activation
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On Mon, 13 Nov 2006 04:07:26 GMT, <postbacktothegroup@whatevergroupIpostedto.net > wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I smacked a wyeast scottish ale smack pack (activator) at 2:00 pm est today.
> Contrary to my 3 other experiences with Wyeast activators that activated and
> puffed full within 3 hours this pack is only half full 9 hours later. Now,
> the other 3 were 1056 so my first question, is this "typical" of the
> Scottish variety? Secondly, if I leave this overnight and it "puffs" full
> am I safe to use it to pitch tomorrow if I brew? Or shojld I consider this
> a bad pack and buy a new one?
What was the date on it? Typically older packs take a bit longer to
swell.
You should really be making a starter from it in either case though.
Pitching it into a starter before it's fully swollen shouldn't be an issue.
John.
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