Storing Yeast?

When storing yeast for long periods of time, where do I store it. A refrigerator, basement? What temperature? I ordered a couple packets from Midwest and just received them in the mail. So I was wondering how i should go about storing them. Looking for a little help.

The fridge for sure. Long term you can freeze it with the proper technique. ideally you want yeast as fresh as possible. You might get better response to this thread if you posted in the yeast and fermentation forum.

When storing yeast for long periods of time, where do I store it? A refrigerator, basement, etc? What temperature? I ordered a couple packets from Midwest and just received them in the mail. So I was wondering how i should go about storing them. Looking for a little help.

Thanks much, I will try that.

Your fridge, and typically your storage length is the "best by" date on the packets.

I store dry yeast in the freezer and it will last a couple months. Liquid yeast goes in the fridge and needs to be used within a week or two.

TheBiGZ said:

I store dry yeast in the freezer and it will last a couple months. Liquid yeast goes in the fridge and needs to be used within a week or two.

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where are you getting these time lines? liquid yeast has a 4-6 month shelf life as is and as long as you make a starter, its fine even longer. dry yeast is good for over a year in the fridge

dcp27 said:

where are you getting these time lines? liquid yeast has a 4-6 month shelf life as is and as long as you make a starter, its fine even longer. dry yeast is good for over a year in the fridge

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The liquid yeast I'm referring to would be harvested yeast. Why would you buy a smack pack and sit on it for 4-6 months? regardless of how it's stored, the freshest yeast would perform better.

From BYO:
Refrigerated yeast can last about a week or two, but for sanitation reasons, it’s better to pitch it within the first few days of harvesting.

For long periods of time you can store liquid or harvested yeast by freezing it properly:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/d...tarter-then-why-not-farm-yeast-freeze-269488/

Otherwise, packaged liquid yeast will have a viable number of cells if keep in in the fridge up to its best use date. After that you need to make a starter.
Dry can be kept up to the best used date at room temp, you can extend this further (not sure how much) by keeping it in the fridge.
Harvested yeast can be subjected to infection and mutation if kept in the fridge over x amount of time. Best to use quickly or freeze properly.

TheBiGZ said:

The liquid yeast I'm referring to would be harvested yeast. Why would you buy a smack pack and sit on it for 4-6 months? regardless of how it's stored, the freshest yeast would perform better.

From BYO:
Refrigerated yeast can last about a week or two, but for sanitation reasons, it’s better to pitch it within the first few days of harvesting.

Click to expand...

i'm not saying i would sit on it that long, just that what its shelf life is from the manufacturer. your quote wasn't clear that you meant harvested yeast & despite BYOs claim, it lasts much longer than that regardless. plenty of people on here have used harvested yeast that is months old & i've used stuff over a year old without a hitch. not to mention, just think about how old some of the dregs are people use from commercial brews without a problem

sure freshest is best, but if you;re using a starter, you got tons of fresh yeast no matter the age

I think the one week timeline is referring to active liquid yeast without doing a starter? That's definitely not true for a liquid yeast pack. Homebrew shops store liquid wyeast packs in fridges for months, and I store yeast cultures under cool boiled water for months to re-use. If they are sleeping they last for months. If you aren't buying fresh wyeast packs every time you brew, then always make a starter to check the viability and increase your cell count.