Yeast Cake storage

Just wondering how long a yeast cake will last and what possible issues would I have repitching on a whole cake? I have a conical so harvesting a whole cake from primary is fairly easy. I've tried yeast washing per BTV but I find I lose a lot in the process and I'm really lazy.

Thank in advance!

I've pitched a yeast slurry (cake) that was stored in a quart mason jar up to 2 months after harvesting, although I am not saying that this is the most reliable or ideal method. I am just lazy like you said you were.

Make sure to sanitize real well and keep the slurry in the fridge. Also make a starter with the slurry before you repitch, it will get the yeast going again and also give you a chance to check for weird smells/infections.

Agreed. IME yeast "washing" only tosses out 90% of the viable cells and doesn't improve viability much if any.

Details:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/12/yeast-washing-exposed.html

I wouldn't pitch onto the entire cake. If you don't have a microscope 1 billion cells per milliliter will give you a ball park estimate.

According to "The Practical Brewer" a six month storage cycle is common for yeast strains stored in a broth. For Agar slants it says over a year. Personally I've been counting cells on the ones in my fridge for over a month and seen no drop in viability. I just did a beer with a 6 week old slurry and it took off in about 24 hours.

Details on the effects of refrigeration on viability:
http://woodlandbrew.blogspot.com/2012/12/refrigeration-effects-on-yeast-viability.html

I keep the yeast cake in a sanitized Ball jar for up to two weeks in the fridge. If I'm not brewing within two weeks, I don't save the yeast cake.

I started using ziploc bags. Just pour it in from the carboy.
Easy because you don't have to sanitize them.
I just cut off a corner when I am ready to pitch.
I don't bother with the yeast wahing anymore.

dzlater said:

I started using ziploc bags. Just pour it in from the carboy.
Easy because you don't have to sanitize them.
I just cut off a corner when I am ready to pitch.
I don't bother with the yeast wahing anymore.

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I like this idea! how long have you waited to pitch your bag-o-yeast?

kpr121 said:

I like this idea! how long have you waited to pitch your bag-o-yeast?

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I think the longest I've saved it was around three weeks.