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Author Topic: liquid yeast packs dead  (Read 2876 times)

Offline tommymorris

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #15 on: April 27, 2021, 08:53:24 pm »
I am 6 batches deep on packs of 1450 and Mexican Lager yeast I bought months ago.  I just had some WLP002 delivered. I am pretty sure I can get through the summer with these. If not I have a dry yeast back up for each.

Offline majorvices

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #16 on: April 28, 2021, 05:39:09 am »
We need a south east option. rebel brewer was great when they were in Nashville

Offline BrewBama

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liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #17 on: April 28, 2021, 06:21:05 am »
We need a south east option. rebel brewer was great when they were in Nashville
+1. I sent a note to Northern Brewer years ago and recommended a ‘Southern Brewer’.   I even provided them with a demographic statement from AHA: “Homebrewers are fairly evenly spread across the country, with the slight plurality congregated in the West (31 percent), followed by the South (26 percent), Midwest (23 percent) and the fewest in the Northeast (17 percent).”  I don’t think they heard me because they sold to AB.



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« Last Edit: April 28, 2021, 06:45:12 am by BrewBama »

Offline roger

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #18 on: April 28, 2021, 06:23:50 am »
+2, Especially for yeast.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #19 on: April 28, 2021, 06:42:39 am »
Yeah, once MoreBeer opened their East coast warehouse it really upped my comfort level with ordering liquid yeast. Up my way I don't just have to worry about DOA yeast from heat, but cold as well. I've come home from work to frozen yeast packs on my front porch in winter. Thankfully they weren't frozen rock hard and there was enough viable yeast to make a starter, but a random Arctic blast would probably be a different story.

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Offline Oiscout

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #20 on: April 28, 2021, 06:43:19 am »
Speaking of dead yeast an expired pack of omega yeast just arrived on my door step

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Offline goose

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #21 on: April 28, 2021, 08:39:13 am »
Samething happened to me recently with a pack of wyeast belgian Ardennes strain. It was 72 hours with no activity so I tossed it

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I had some 3522 (Belgian Ardennes) that I bought from my LHBS bck in January to make my Tripel.  But I ran out of time before we left for FL and just brewed the beer last week.  The package recommended use by date was April, 2021 and I knew I was toward the end of the best viability date.  I smacked the pack the night before the brew making the starter and it didn't swell up.  I pitched it into the starter wort the next morning and although it took longer to build up I had krausen on it by the time it was ready to pitch into the batch of Tripel.  It took a bit longer to get going and is not fermenting vigorously, but it is going.  It just might take a bit longer to finish

Also to note here, that strain almost always does not ferment down to the terminal gravity I am looking for here.  Although there is a quarter pound each of aromatic malt in it for flavor and acidulated malt (for pH adjustment) in the grain bill (5 gallon batch) it shouldn't effect approaching the desired terminal gravity since the grains are both fermentable.  I also have 2.75 lbs. of sugar in the batch to dry it out and OG is in the 19.15 Plato (~1.077) range.  I add some BE-256 to the fermenter after about a week or so to finish off the beer and this helps me get to where I want to be.  I like the flavor profile of 3522 but it is a bit finicky here for me.  I always ferment this beer at around 66-68 and I raised the temp to 70 a day or so ago after about 4 days in.
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Offline Oiscout

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #22 on: April 28, 2021, 08:41:50 am »
Samething happened to me recently with a pack of wyeast belgian Ardennes strain. It was 72 hours with no activity so I tossed it

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I had some 3522 (Belgian Ardennes) that I bought from my LHBS bck in January to make my Tripel.  But I ran out of time before we left for FL and just brewed the beer last week.  The package recommended use by date was April, 2021 and I knew I was toward the end of the best viability date.  I smacked the pack the night before the brew making the starter and it didn't swell up.  I pitched it into the starter wort the next morning and although it took longer to build up I had krausen on it by the time it was ready to pitch into the batch of Tripel.  It took a bit longer to get going and is not fermenting vigorously, but it is going.  It just might take a bit longer to finish

Also to note here, that strain almost always does not ferment down to the terminal gravity I am looking for here.  Although there is a quarter pound each of aromatic malt in it for flavor and acidulated malt (for pH adjustment) in the grain bill (5 gallon batch) it shouldn't effect approaching the desired terminal gravity since the grains are both fermentable.  I also have 2.75 lbs. of sugar in the batch to dry it out and OG is in the 19.15 Plato (~1.077) range.  I add some BE-256 to the fermenter after about a week or so to finish off the beer and this helps me get to where I want to be.  I like the flavor profile of 3522 but it is a bit finicky here for me.  I always ferment this beer at around 66-68 and I raised the temp to 70 a day or so ago after about 4 days in.
Oh nice atleast yours took off, mine didnt do squat. I'll try it again in the winter time

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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #23 on: April 28, 2021, 08:44:48 am »
We need a south east option. rebel brewer was great when they were in Nashville

Wasn't there a fairly large shop out of Georgia for a while--Brewers Warehouse?

Austin Homebrew is not terribly far from at least the southern states near the Mississippi. After years of being run into the ground by the former owner (along with his brewery he's been trying to relaunch for several years) it was bought by Adventures in Homebrewing a few years ago and they seemed to have cleaned up the problems with the Austin store. To my knowledge they continue to warehouse supplies in Austin for sales through Austin Homebrew.
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Offline majorvices

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #24 on: April 28, 2021, 09:24:06 am »
I don't think I ever ordered from Austin before. Might give it a shot

Offline Megary

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #25 on: April 28, 2021, 09:29:18 am »
Yeah, once MoreBeer opened their East coast warehouse it really upped my comfort level with ordering liquid yeast. Up my way I don't just have to worry about DOA yeast from heat, but cold as well. I've come home from work to frozen yeast packs on my front porch in winter. Thankfully they weren't frozen rock hard and there was enough viable yeast to make a starter, but a random Arctic blast would probably be a different story.

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Lately I've been using Keystone HomeBrew for whatever I can.  They are a bit more "Mom & Pop" and their web-site has some information holes, but they consistently beat MoreBeer from time of order placed to time of shipping.  Makes me a bit more comfortable ordering liquid yeast.

Offline RC

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #26 on: April 28, 2021, 09:51:05 am »
Proximity to the online store and a short shipping time is definitely no guarantee that the yeast won't be DOA. I live ~80 miles from Morebeer's NorCal distro center, and about the same from Williams, and always get orders the day after they ship. Once in a while I still get DOA liquid yeast--although to be fair, it's very rare this happens.

But if it's not transit time/conditions from the yeast bank to them, or from them to me, then the yeast is either being subjected to temp extremes while in inventory at the online store, or the yeast was dead before it even left the yeast bank. Either seems very unlikely so it's still a mystery.

Offline BrewBama

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liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #27 on: April 28, 2021, 11:06:14 am »
That’s true ...but the odds sure are better.


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Offline majorvices

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #28 on: April 28, 2021, 11:13:11 am »
I live in Alabama and I've homebrewed since '96. Aside from one commercial yeast shipment I have never had a yeast arrive DOA. Some took longer to start that others but I can't really recall any taking longer than 48 hours. But maybe that's what some of you mean.

Northern Brewer shipments do seem to take longer now than they used to, but it used to be if I ordered yeast on on Sunday and add an extra ice pack that yeast would arrive by Wed. or Thursday. The packs would arrive warm but never "hot". That said I have always tried to minimize shipping in the dead of summer. But I feel like I could order yeast on Sunday and it would arrive fine.

Offline BrewBama

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Re: liquid yeast packs dead
« Reply #29 on: April 28, 2021, 12:18:41 pm »
... I have never had a yeast arrive DOA. ...

I wish I could say that. That hasn’t been my experience at all.



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