Noble Grape smack packs

[Thomas]

So this weekend I grabbed a 1084 smack pack from NG for an irish stout. When they gave it to me it was extremely cold, but I didn't worry too much. I let it warm up to room temp for a few hours then popped the nutrient and allowed it to expand for 4-5 hours more. It never showed signs of inflating, but I pitched it anyway as some strains dont always show extreme activity. Now here I am three days later with no signs of fermentation in my carboy. This is the third time I have either gotten a dead, or already inflated smack pack from NG. Before I contact them, I was wondering if anyone else has had similar troubles with NG smack packs.

[Kyle]

The 1214 I bought (I think from NG) did not expand very much at all over 2 days at room temp. Apparently that can be normal. I recall pitching and hoping for the best. It worked fine.

No signs of fermentation after 72 hours is not good though.

[Chris Craig]

I've ordered a few from them and had no issues.

[Richard]

TBH sounds like their refrigerator is going sub-zero.

[Ian Grant]

I use wyeast smack packs every time and most don't inflate only the 1056 does.   I've had no issues at all.

[Thomas]

TBH sounds like their refrigerator is going sub-zero.

This is what Im thinking, I'm pretty sure they are accedently freezing their smack pack for a short period of time and not noticing it. I really wana wait and let the 1084 kick in so that it can be harvested and added to the collection. But I think its time to throw in a pack of s-04 just to be safe.

[DandyMason]

Ive ordered a lot of smack packs from them.. The last two I used did not inflate and same exact thing... 2-3 days later no fermentation so I pitched SO5. These two smack packs had been sitting in my fridge for a couple months though and were packaged in July or somthing... I was using them in November... I didnt think they were too old but maybe the age was an issue with mine

[chrismccull]

I wonder if White Labs yeast would be better?  I don't think you need to activate it.

[Chris Craig]

Wyeast smack packs don't need to be activated.  The nutrient/energizer is just there to start the yeast off.  It'd work without smacking, but the lag would be a bit longer.

[pliny]

It is strongly recommended to make a starter for both White Labs and Wyeast.
The smack pack/vile only contains a portion of number of cells needed in a 5 gallon batch.
Size of starter depends on your planned OG.
Even if you had a 1.040 beer, it is still recommended to build up some more (and healthy) cells.
The date on the smack pack can also play a role in the size of starter.

[fakr]

I had some bad experiences with wyeast smack packs.  I pitched 2 unswollen packs of wyeast ringwood in some bitter one time and it didn't move at all...day 5 pitched s-05...the beer wasn't the best tasting after that big of a fermentation lag.

I don't blame it on wyeast, more the source of the purchase.  I'm assuming the 2 packs froze and thawed out during shipping. it was sometime in november last year.

[jamie_savoie]

I had a 14 months old smackpack that still took off with a 3 step-up starter

[Richard]

Yeah the only way to really kill those things off is to freeze them. It might just be a refrigerator set too close to zero.