My vial of liquid yeast exploded when I opened it...

[airyk]

I am a newbie homebrewing, last night was only my second batch. Everything was going ok until I was ready to pitch the yeast...I had a vial of White Labs California Ale Yeast (liquid). I took it out of the fridge about 3-4 hours before pitching it. I shook it up, then when I opened it up it just squirted all over the place. I put what I could in the carboy, but 20 hours later there is still no fermentation. What would cause the yeast to do that? Does that mean it was a bad batch? Did I do something wrong?

[asciibaron]

i used the same yeast on saturday - i noticed the vial had a small warning to open it slowly. i think the yeast is in with some yeast food and therefore the vial is under pressure.

mine began to bubble and i quickly closed the cap and then very very very slowly opened it.

i'd wait til tomorrow morning to see it it finally started to ferment. if not, get another vial and pitch it.

sorry to hear the yeast bomb exploded.

[paul84043]

Hi airyk, welcome to the forum.

The exploding vial of White Labs yeast is perfectly normal and not only does it not indicate something wrong, it's quite the opposite, it means that your yeast was kicking butt and taking names in that tube and was ready for bigger and better things, like real beer!
Be sure to sanitize the tube and your hands when opening those tubes up, there's really no way to do it without making a mess. I do it over a large funnel, some people do it inside a large sanitized baggy and then pour it in.
If you shake the crap out of it, then let it settle again for just a couple of minutes standing upright, then crack the lid slowly, it works the best. I have yet to have one NOT go all over the place.
It's a good sign.

20 hours is a decent lag time, but not beyond the realm of "normal". I have had batches take quite a bit longer.
You can agitate your wort by gently swirling it to make a current to pick up the yeast off the bottom and re-suspend it. This sometimes helps. ALso try to keep your temp a little closer to 75 for the first day or so until fermentation kicks off, the warmer temp helps too.
Look for fine bubbles forming on the surface of the wort, that will be your sign.
Your yeast was obviously very viable, it will just take some time.

[airyk]

thanks for the info, guys. But now another question...since I didn't get the whole vial in the carboy, how does that affect the beer? Does that mean it will take longer for it to completely ferment?

[paul84043]

It may take a bit longer to get going, and could possibly take longer to finish, but my experience with the White Labs Yeast has been very good, typically the yeast is in excellent condition, I think you'll be okay.

If you go another day without activity, I'd pitch more yeast. You can pitch more just to be sure anyway if you want, it's nearly impossible to pitch too much.