Smak Packs and Starters

[chrishw]

I tend to smack the pack several days before I do my starter then put it in the fridge. I've had several bad yeast packs and nothing is worse than a starter that won't start!

IMHO there is no technical reason to smack the pack in terms of yeast health *if* you are making a starter. The only thing smacking it will really do is wake it up the yeast a little (which the starter will do anyways with a LOT more food/nutrients). If you are just pitching the packet without the starter I would say yes, the little "wake up" is probably a good thing.

So for me (since I almost always do starters) the only reason is to check viability, which is a good enough reason for me! After I check (and it swells) I toss in fridge until I am ready to make the starter.

[Lawpunk]

Hey thanks for all the great responses!

It looks like I'll have a little more time, so I'm going to smack the pack tomorrow evening and make the starter a few hours later and then let it do it's thing overnight so it's ready the next morning when I start brewing.

[kace069]

Yeah that 1/10th of a second to smack the smack pack i s really going to set your brew day back hours. I wouldn't do it.

Pull it out of the fridge and let it warm up to room temp...like you should be doing. Should take an hour to do.

Waste that 10th of a second of your life to smack it.

Start thinking about making the starter wort.

Whether it has swollen or not pitch... If you smacked it and a few hours pass and nothing happens consider buying new yeast.