Yeast DOA? What now?

[Brewno Marz]

Bought Mangrove Jack M20 Bavarian Wheat dry yeast a couple of days ago. Opened & poured it over 120ml of cooled boiled water. It was a mid brown colour and dropped quickly. Smelled dodgy, like meat on the turn. Noticed use by is 10/2016. After about 20 min added some sugar to see if it activates. 45 minutse later and it's foamed up about 1 cm. Still smells bad.

1. Pitch or ditch? - going into a wit bier OG of 1.045 & 17litres
2. If ditch what to sub?I have US-05, S-04, k-97

Ferment is temp controlled.

 

[manticle]

Ditch.

Replacement depends on what you were making. If I presume wheat/hefeweizen, none of those are a straight up replacement but if you have to pitch now with one of those then k-97, us05, s04 in descending order.

 

[Tropico]

Noticed use by is 10/2016.

Yep, been there. Always look at date before purchase

 

[Brewno Marz]

Cheers. I'll go with the K-97. I normally ferment with K-97 at 13deg C for my Kolsch, so I'll be interested to see how it performs at 20degC!

 

[manticle]

Why not ferment as you usually would?

 

[Brewno Marz]

Why not ferment as you usually would?

Fair question. It was a double brew day yesterday and had 40L of APA & 40L of Belgian wheat & only 1 ferment fridge. I split the wheat beer and wanted to try the MJ dry yeast for comparison. Anyway, took the punt and pitched the dodgey MJ yeast, knowing I could add the K-97 if it failed. Thick krausen this morning & now bubbling away merrily...so there was enough live yeast for 17l at 1.045! Just hope that smell doesn't permeate through...

 

[manticle]

That smell you described is why I suggested ditch. If it was merely a case of low percentage viable yeast, I'd have suggested building a starter.

Hope it works. Meat wheat

 

[Brewno Marz]

Ok. The Garden Hoe beer with very dodgy MJ out of date yeast actually worked. I was prepared to ditch the batch, but it worked. Peel of 4 oranges, chamomille tea bags, coriander seeds and stinky yeast...just like a bought one...

 

[mtb]

You're gonna have to name it Meat Wheat though.

 

[homebrewnewb]

Bought Mangrove Jack M20 Bavarian Wheat dry yeast a couple of days ago. Opened & poured it over 120ml of cooled boiled water. It was a mid brown colour and dropped quickly. Smelled dodgy, like meat on the turn. Noticed use by is 10/2016. After about 20 min added some sugar to see if it activates. 45 minutse later and it's foamed up about 1 cm. Still smells bad.

1. Pitch or ditch? - going into a wit bier OG of 1.045 & 17litres
2. If ditch what to sub?I have US-05, S-04, k-97

Ferment is temp controlled.

this is EXACTLY what happened to me, apart from the yeast straing etc, same beer style, same outcome on the starter, dead duck.
I tried two safales pitches 24 hours apart and no krausen at all one included the ever reliable 05, i think my fridge died and took the yeast with it, anyway.
smelt tasted the starter and just tastes like wort with yeast in in... :\ no HBS' open on sunday either nooooOOOooO etc, etc.

 

[Brewno Marz]

You're gonna have to name it Meat Wheat though.

"Meat Wheat" it is...but I quite liked Garden Hoe...