Thoughts on the new White Labs packaging? Personally, I'm loving them (used twice so far, California ale yeast). My luck with getting the Wyeast slap packs to actually slap has always been hit or miss, so having a straight dump of yeast is a lot better in my view.

But... I just brewed a high gravity black rye IPA. After listening to some podcasts and reading a bit about the new White Labs packages that said no starter cultures were needed, I pitched it straight. It's bubbling along nicely, but after a couple days I'm second-guessing myself on the choice not to culture (I used to often, but I got lazy).

Any real-world experience yet on whether the claims that it's a healthy starter even for high-gravity beers are accurate? (If I recall, that impression came from the Basic Brewing Radio podcast, via a White Labs statement).

I'm not worried about having an awful beer, per se. Just thinking now I could have done better maybe.