Wyeast Failure To Burst

[Henno]

I smacked it and I smacked it. I have used wyeasts a few times now, since the black packaging, and can never really feel the inner bag like your supposed to be able to. It all just feels squishy to me. So after reading the instructions about it not having to swell and Batz's sticky in this section about it taking ages to swell and the fact that it is currently quite cold in my kitchen I just assumed I didn't have much activity and to pitch it into a starter.

Guess what, the inner bag hadn't broken. The nutrient was cloudy but the intact inner bag was full of clear liquid. Now when I say I smacked it I mean morning and night for 4 or 5 days with lots of shaking after each smacking attack. How hard to you have to bash these things? At one stage I was worried about bursting the outer bag.

I sprayed my hands with starsan and plucked it out and also sprayed a knife and cut it and chucked it into the starter I had already poured the nutrient into. Should it still fire?

Anybody else had a failure to burst with these things?

Cheers
Henno

 

[Inge]

A german suplex ought to do the trick. If you lack the flexibility, try an elbow drop from the kitchen table.

 

[reVoxAHB]

Now when I say I smacked it I mean morning and night for 4 or 5 days with lots of shaking after each smacking attack. How hard to you have to bash these things? At one stage I was worried about bursting the outer bag.

Unsmacked, unsmack-attacked , these should be fairly flat and the nutrient ball easy to find.

In terms of smacking, check this vid.

To answer your questions, I've never had a failure to burst and it should fire fine. I would just be concerned of what you've picked up in the starter process.

A good rule of thumb is to smell the starter before pitching to your wort. If it smells fine, it should be OK.

reVox

 

[PostModern]

I find the nutrient pack inside and move it around until it's up against the side (not top) then, well, literally smack it. Sometimes it's a bit hard to pop, but you'll be able to feel it if it hasn't popped. My last one was an out-of-date pack and 3 days after smacking, the pack had swelled until the top gave way under the pressure. Luckily it was standing up.

 

[hockadays]

I've had a similiar thing happen,
smacked and didn't fire when I opened up the pack the inner pack had extra plastic around it like a manufacturing fault and there was no way of bursting it by hand, anyway I cut it up and pitched it and it fired as per normal.

 

[Kai]

Place the pack on a smooth flat and solid surface like a countertop. Put your hand on the pack and massage around gently until you are confident you can feel exactly where the internal pack is (brewing is all about love, care and attention). Once you have the internal sachet located, just raise your hand six inches and bring the heel of your palm down on it hard. Shift the weight of your hand around a little while it is still on the packet to confirm that you have burst the inner pack. This process never fails for me, and mika the lika can attest to my awesome smacking skills having observed them in person on the weekend.

Also henno, the inner pack is the nutrient and the cloudy outer liquid the yeast. If you are preparing a starter you can always just forego smacking and pour the yeast in then discard the nutrient pack. This can be especially useful when you have a pack that has already swollen slightly prior to smacking.

 

[ozpowell]

In terms of smacking, check this vid.

Just watched the video and I've never found it that easy to smack the nutrient package. That was nothing more than a gentle clap :lol:

I use the same method as Kai and usually get it in 2 or 3 attempts.

 

[Ross]

Word of warning!!!

I had one once that refused to smack...made the mistake of using my heel to stamp on it....bloody yeast everywhere :lol:

 

[fraser_john]

I have never found it "easy" to get one of the nutrient bags to burst, but have never failed to do so. I usually corner it in one of the bottom corners, lay it on a counter top, put the heel of my palm on the nutrient bag and then put all my weight on it, more a squeeze than a smack. It always give way eventually!

 

[T.D.]

Word of warning!!!

I had one once that refused to smack...made the mistake of using my heel to stamp on it....bloody yeast everywhere :lol:

Sounds dangerous, might stick to White Labs!

 

[SJW]

I got a great tip the other day with these things. And that was to SMACK IT. I used to try and use pressure alone and found it very hard to break. But as the name says SMACK. Just like smacking SWMBO backside :icon_offtopic: .
Anyway, if u just locate the iner bag and give it a short sharp smack it takes a lot less effort.

Steve

 

[devo]

I don't bother smacking em if I going to prep and pour it into a starter flask.

 

[Henno]

Thanks for that guys. I will try Kai's method in fact I think I actually did once or twice. I think my real problem is I can't really find that bloody nutrient bag. Now I come to think of it the smell when I opened the bag should have told me that was the yeast and now I know it is I may just chuck that straight into a starter.

Hey here's a thought. Could I keep the nutrient and put a few drops into my wort when I am making slants. In one of the bits I read about putting down slants I'm sure I saw somebody say that you 'could' put nutrient into the wort as well as agar.

 

[piraterum]

In terms of smacking, check this vid.

reVox
[/quote]


Hehe I like the way in the video after sanitising the outside of the packet he immediately man handles the outside of the packet with his filthy hands! :lol:

 

[mika]

...and mika the lika can attest to my awesome smacking skills having observed them in person on the weekend.

Yep, Kai's certainly got smacking down to a fine art...but I'm not sure what that has to do with this thread and I thought we said we wouldn't talk about this in public :unsure: