how old is old?

[schmandee]

I brewed an ESB last weekend and used a Wyeast 1469 Activator pack with a manufacturing date of Dec 29 2010. a few hours after smacking the pack it didn't show much activity. the fermentation was also very slow...took 1.5 days to get a decent krausen. is 2 monthes too old? or maybe just a normal characteristic of this strain of yeast?

[spiderwrangler]

I haven't worked with that yeast in particular, but you should still have yeast in decent shape after that amount of time. Mr. Malty says 56% viability, so it could be a bit better through pitching more or doing a starter, but it's always possible that the particular pack that you got was handled a bit more roughly resulting in an even lower % viability. That being said, 1.5 days isn't horrible, and there are other factors that could be playing a role (temp, aeration, etc).

[schmandee]

thats what i figured. i didn't think 2 monthes is too old at all. it's the first time I have used an activator pack actually so i was expecting to see a more vigorous fermentation. I don't usually make starters becuase I'm not organized enough/trust myself to be clean enough...just sort of surprised to see such a sluggish ferment. Thanks for your reply!

[Spelt]

Not to belabor the point but if you can make good beer, you can do a starter. And a starter will make every fermentation better regardless of the age of your initial yeast pitch. I agree that slow starts are not always a bad thing, especially with higher gravity beers. But pitching the right number of yeast at the beginning has a tremendous impact on the flavor of your brew. Its not so much a time thing as a taste thing. Give starters a shot and you'll surprise yourself at the return on the investment.