A Munich Helles is being planned in the near future.
I smacked a Wyeast 2206 smack pack 4 days ago and I’m not noticing much swelling, if any.
I can’t detect a pack within when I press around – could it be that the inner pack didn’t get included?
It is about a year old (but kept at constant 36 F in the fridge). I know the counts are down, but I plan to use it anyway–I’m going to toss it into a 1 L starter flask tonight or tomorrow.
For a lager, you’ll need a lot more than a 1L starter. I usually don’t wait for the pack to expand before making a starter. It’s really not necessary and your starter will show you the viability.
+1
I recommend pitching immediately.
Hopefully you are using the 1 L starter to step up to a 4L starter or larger.
Well… it looks like all I had to do was post something on the forum, and then whaddyaknow, the smack pack just swells up by the time I come home and makes a liar out of me…
OK. I’ll pitch into the 1 liter starter flask, then bump up into the 2 liter flask, and then the 4 liter.
A 10 gallon batch is planned and will be split between two plastic bucket fermenters.
I’d skip the 2 and just go from the 1 to the 4.
With yeast that old, I wouldn’t go straight to a 1 L volume either. Maybe 250 mL, 1 L, then 4 L. It’ll probably be faster than waiting for the 1 L to start.