bad Wyeast starter?

[ajdelange]

I'm sure you are absolutely right i.e. it was probably good when it left the factory so the question is as to who should assume the risk. The retailer pays the manufacturer in good faith, and I pay the reatialer in good faith. No one guarantees anyone viability so I guess the risk devolves upon the ultimate purchaser. If anyone is responsible it is doubtless the carrier but the carrier doesn't guarantee live arrival either. Or perhaps you could blame the factory for not putting enough dry ice in the shipment. Thus for a one time in a brewing career event I assume the risk and wouldn't ask the LHBS or Wyeast to cover it for me. If it's a repeated problem then capitalism kicks in as it did with my LHBS and White Labs. He doesn't carry their yeast.

[scotchpine]

Hey thanks for all the replies. Okay brew day was coming, per another post recommendation I made a new starter, and used White Labs Cry Havoc instead. The Wyeast Bohemian Lager did finally get going yesterday. I will ferment this out, decant it and save it for another day. However I think I will stick with White Labs in the future. I have never had a problem with their yeast. In fact my local HBS doesn't carry Wyeast anymore.

If you got that from Alt Bev, was it one of their recent clearance deals? If so, what was the date on it? I looked at some of those smack pack last time I was there but the dates had me concerned. Didn't think the discount was worth the gamble since I was'nt going to be using it right away. I use primarily Wyeast, and their decision not to carry them anymore has not swayed me from it.

[ajdelange]

I went to my LHBS to buy another couple of slapt packs of 2124, told him about my problem and asked if he'd had any other reports of trouble with it. He said no, it was one of the easiest to pitch. He also said that indeed Wyeast does guarantee viability and that if I still had the package and got him the lot number Wyeast would refund my money.

[ajdelange]

And the tale continues: the new slap packs started with no trouble at all. Swelled right up when slapped and were in a rousing fermentation the morning after pitching them. Most significant, I thought, was that they smelled very different from the ones that didn't start. I won't say the ones that didn't start smelled off but these new ones just smelled "fresher". So I conclude those 2 earlier packs got ruined somewhere along the line and that any supplier will eventually have this problem.