{"id":908,"date":"2014-04-08T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/?page_id=908"},"modified":"2020-08-29T15:12:39","modified_gmt":"2020-08-29T19:12:39","slug":"how-to-use-a-wyeast-activator-smack-pack","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/brew-day-prep\/how-to-use-a-wyeast-activator-smack-pack\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the basic process of using a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack. While some Wyeast online resources showing the best way to activate the pack were helpful, I found the directions on the pack itself to be the easiest.<\/p>\n<p>On my first attempt, the nutrient pouch inside the smack pack did not break, but I decided to pitch it anyway. After doing some research I found out that the yeast does not even need to &#8220;activate.&#8221; It&#8217;s just used to get the yeast going and test viability.\u00a0 Per Wyeast, you can pitch without activating and it will work just fine.<\/p>\n<p>Approximate times in the video are noted for reference.<br \/>\n<script src=\"\/\/static.getclicky.com\/inc\/javascript\/video\/youtube.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/svrUeZEg1MI?wmode=transparent\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Video Summary<\/h2>\n<h3>Supplies:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Wyeast Activator Smack Pack<\/li>\n<li>Sanitizer (Use a spray bottle for convenience)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure id=\"attachment_920\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-920\" style=\"width: 290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/activator-pack.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-920  \" src=\"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/activator-pack-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"Wyeast Activator Smack Pack\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/activator-pack-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/activator-pack-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/activator-pack.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-920\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wyeast Activator Smack Pack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Anytime you\u2019re using liquid yeast make sure to sanitize the outside of the pack first before it\u2019s opened. I have had overflows before, and it is suggested by the manufacturer, so just to be safe &#8211; sanitize.<\/p>\n<p>Next we must activate our direct pitch activator inside the smack pack. The outside of the package shows a few different ways, and I watched a video online that shows how to find the pack on the inside so you can put it in the center and smack it that way. However, the instructions on the package seem to make it a lot easier.<\/p>\n<p>They say to put the pack up against one of the corners (by tilting the package), hold it in the palm of your hand, and use the palm of your other hand to smack it open firmly. Once you\u2019ve done that you should be able to feel around and make sure it\u2019s been popped.\u00a0 They also show online that you can take it and work it back and forth to ensure the nutrients get mixed around. Make sure to start this process about three hours before pitching. I chose to do mine during my mash, when I had a little over an hour left. Also make sure to give it a really good shake to mix up those nutrients.<\/p>\n<h3>My First Time Using a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack<\/h3>\n<p>1:50 I begin by opening the top of the pack and checking inside. Upon my inspection it does not look like I popped the nutrient package.\u00a0 I decided to go ahead and add the yeast to my carboy.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_921\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-921\" style=\"width: 290px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/inside-pack.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-921   \" src=\"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/inside-pack-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"What's Inside a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/inside-pack-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/inside-pack-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/inside-pack.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-921\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">What&#8217;s Inside a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even though it felt like it broke and it swelled up a bit (maybe by just warming-up to room temperature), it did not break open. I\u2019m not quite sure what happened.\u00a0 I read online that it is not a full requirement either to pop and add both the yeast and nutrient, so we will see what happens with it.<\/p>\n<p>2:44 I did check up on whether the Wyeast smack pack needs to activate (with Wyeast) and they said it doesn\u2019t even need to activate. It\u2019s just used to get things going, you can pitch it without activating it and it will work just fine. So I left everything as is, didn\u2019t pour the nutrient pack in (just pitched the yeast) and didn\u2019t worry about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s the basic process of using a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack. While some Wyeast online resources showing the best way to activate the pack were helpful, I found the directions on the pack itself to be the easiest. On my first attempt, the nutrient pouch inside the smack pack did not break, but I decided &#8230; <a title=\"How to Use a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/brew-day-prep\/how-to-use-a-wyeast-activator-smack-pack\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about How to Use a Wyeast Activator Smack Pack\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":303,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/908"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1587,"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/908\/revisions\/1587"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biabbrewing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}