Foreign objects in yeast

Beermates,
I am brewing up the Surly Furious extract kit with the Wyeast 1335 British Ale II. Upon pouring the yeast into my starter, I noticed some particles come out with it. One of them looked like it could be a small bug? (see photo). I went ahead with the starter, and it appeared to ferment as there was a krausen and bubbles. The next day there appeared to be a lot of “stuff” spinning around the starter. Anyway, I took it off the mix plate and took another picture of all the stuff on the bottom (the stir plate magnet is the white thing in the middle).

So, the question is whether I get a new yeast, or brew on? Northern Brewer phone guy said that he didn’t think there was a problem (as all yeasts are different, etc.). I’m worried because the Furious is a limited quantity and it cost me $50+ bucks.

What say you? You can check out the photos on Twitter. The links are below.
Chet

Here are the pics.

Mail order or local store?

Like usual, to me, the pictures don’t come through with what you are dealing with. If you are concerned, see about getting the yeast replaced.

LMs,
Quick follow up. Although everyone at NB assured me that the yeast was ok, I replaced it anyway.

Here are the findings:

  1. Wyeast 1335 is a THICK and clumpy yeast. I had to swish some starter around in the smack pack to get it all out.
  2. There are NO odd objects in the replacement batch. Yea!
  3. 1335 settles out of suspension very quickly. I had a cake and clear beer in about 12 hours in the fridge.

So, will be brewing Surly Furious tonight! Woo hoo!
Chet