All the above is especially true if you consider the customer may hold that yeast for up to about a month in his/her own fridge. I often buy ingredients and don't have time to brew for a while. I think it's fair if the vendor assumes about a month of additional storage.
I just pitched Roeselare that was about 4-5 months old. From what I understand, this is even more critical as you are not supposed to use a starter and an aged Activator packet will have different blend percentages than the original packaging. In the end, I still used it - and had an extra long lag - and may get an extra sour beer (or at least a different sour beer) on the other end.
Aside from that, I don't really care about the age of yeast. I also try to use dry yeast whenever possible - it's cheaper and just as good for most neutral or British styles... and they last for years in the fridge.
I just pitched Roeselare that was about 4-5 months old. From what I understand, this is even more critical as you are not supposed to use a starter and an aged Activator packet will have different blend percentages than the original packaging. In the end, I still used it - and had an extra long lag - and may get an extra sour beer (or at least a different sour beer) on the other end.
Aside from that, I don't really care about the age of yeast. I also try to use dry yeast whenever possible - it's cheaper and just as good for most neutral or British styles... and they last for years in the fridge.