Did I fack it up?

[o2bwest]

I got my extract kit from NB a couple weeks ago. The smack pack has bee at room temp in the kit all that time. I smacked it this morning with the intention of brewing this afternoon. The smack pack is getting a little puffy 3 hours later but nothing to get excited about. What are the chances I will get to brew today? Will the yeast ever become active enough to brew with? How can I make it happen?

[TheTodd]

You may be okay. Make a small starter (microwave a couple of cups of water; add 1/4c. of DME; cool to room temp). Add the yeast to that while you brew the kit. If you don't have DME, scoop out two cups of your wort after you've boiled it for about 5 minutes and cool that. Either way, it won't be ideal, but it may be enough to start activating the yeast. If you don't see activity in your fermenter after two days, get yourself another smack pack or a packet of dry yeast and add that. As long as your process was sanitary, you should be alright.

Good luck.