Has anyone had any problems with this yeast strain?
I popped my activator pack yesterday late afternoon and I didn’t see any activity before I headed to bed. I check it right before I headed to bed and verified the packet inside was popped and sure enough it was and still virtually no swelling (almost looks like a small swell, but not sure). This morning I figured I had nothing to lose by opening it up and throwing it in my starter. It smelt kind of funky too. I happen to have another pack of the same strain, so I’ll probably make another starter and see if maybe that is just the natural funk of the yeast.
The package is still young (manufactured 22Jun10), was refrigerated as soon as it arrived, and has been in my household refrigerator, so it’s condition should be strong.
I don’t normally use an airlock when I make a starter, but I threw one on today to monitor it’s progress.
Still no bubbles and it looks like the yeast has already all settled out at room temp, so I am going to call it a lost cause and start a new starter. Must have been a dead yeast packet. Oh well, explains the smell a little I guess.
I just used this yeast within the last month or so and it worked just fine. It did seem to start a bit slow but worked well with a starter. It definitely sounds like you got a bad pack. If it smells funny I would definitely dump it and use a different one. I made a starter a couple of months ago that smelled funny. I decided to try a bit of the wort and it tasted awful. I dumped it and opted to use some other yeast instead. Hope things work out with the other pack you have.
Wyeast 1335 Part Two was also a flop (didn’t swell in the packet), so third time’s the charm I guess. Take three is ole’ reliable US-05, I’m sure I’ll find a strong colony in the morning. Must have been mishandled in transit to me. Maybe the LHBS or the extra bells and whistles for cold shipment of yeast is worth the money (at least in the middle of the summer).
One great takeaway from this debacle, besides the well known advantages of making a yeast starter, it also helps you avoid pitching a dead batch. I have historically been lazy and just pitched my liquid yeast straight, but fortunately no short cut this time and probably never again in the foreseeable future. Lesson learned!