Pack-smacked!

For tonight's brewing session I'm using a Wyeast "smack-pack" containing their London Ale III yeast (#1318). The smack-pack name comes from the fact there is an inner pouch that needs to be burst so that the yeast and nutrients can combine and start replicating. The "Propagator" series is contains 50mL of yeast and nutrient at the start. It is nearly flat to begin with, but swells considerably with carbon dioxide once the yeast are activated. The pack should be activated about 24 hours before pitching, and refrigerated prior to activation.

This particular pack was a bit of a pain as the inner pouch kept squirting out from under my hand when I pressed on it, and I finally had to use both hands. The European Ale yeast pack (#1338) I used in the previous batch was more cooperative.

As for the results of using live yeast instead of dry yeast, I'm a bit too inexperienced to say. Certainly the Safale dry yeast I used on batches one and two worked quite well. I have yet to sample the results of batch three, which will happen at the end of the week.