wlp 002

[johnluc]

hi all,i recently asked a question re: fermenting an out of date WLP002 yeast very slow starting, well i split it this morning and when i stirred it never mixed properly lots of lumps and settled on bottom of demijohn as soon as stopped stirring,had a little taste and it tasted sort of rank, chuck away? or is this normal for this yeast as i have never used this before.
johnluc

 

[Good Ed]

Sometimes a yeast can coagulate (I read about it sometime, but can't remember the details); I had it happen and pitched the yeast and nothing happened, but then gave a vigorous stir and it was off to the races; however if you have a bad smell I wouldn't risk it

 

[markp]

wlp002 is very, very flocculant. It will form a large clump on the bottom of the vessel and this can be difficult to rouse back in to suspension.

When you say 'it tasted rank'; do you mean just not nice to the pallette or was there any sour/vinegar notes?
Sour notes and I would have chucked it.....but lets face it; yeasty, unhopped wort starter won't taste particularly good.

It is an excellent yeast in my opinion.

 

[johnluc]

no vinegary tastes,slightly sour but a little bitter,having not used this before i'm not sure,will wait till i need to use it, do a starter and take it from there.
johnluc.