Year-Old Wyeast British Ale WLP005

I just wanted to mention that I've had a vial of this yeast in my fridge for over a year. It was part of a Bass Ale Clone extract kit I bought from Austin Homebrew Supply. The "best if used by" date was April 24, 2011. I tried it anyway, fully expecting to have to pitch a newer vial on top. But I wanted to see if it would start. I brewed the Bass Ale Clone Saturday morning/afternoon last weekend, and pitched the yeast (at room temp) about 1:30 pm. In the kit, I added the 1% alcohol boost and a capsule of yeast fuel.

There was no activity in the airlock or in the carboy until Monday afternoon. By Tuesday morning I was getting a bubble once per second (or a little faster) and there was a good head of foam in the carboy. It is now Sunday, 6 days since fermentation started, and I'm still getting a bubble every 45 seconds or so...almost ready to rack to secondary...I'll probably do that tomorrow night, assuming the activity stops.

I was amazed that this fermentation started with such old liquid yeast, so I wanted to post and see if others have had similar experiences.

I've heard many cases of year old liquid yeast being used. It took several days to start up because you did not use a starter. Typically, you are going to want to make starters whenever the vial or pack is beyond the "best if used by" date. I make them for every brew and I get better results than when I didn't make starters. Just my opinion at least. Enjoy the tasty brew those yeasty's are going to make. Cheers!

Thanks Mike. I keep telling myself I'm going to start using yeast starters. I think I'll try it with my next brew. Cheers!

As the yeast gets older the viability decreases. That is why a starter is recommended once the "best used by" date has been passed. Typically, low gravity beers can be brewed without starters; you can pitch straight from the smack pack or vial. However, with higher gravity beers, fermentation can stall because there is not enough healthy yeast to produce new yeast. I have pitched straight from the smack pack on a beer with OG of 1.060 and the beer turned out great. However, when I brewed it again and made a starter, it was much better. I have followed the advice of people on HBT and make starters every time I brew now. My beers have gotten noticeably better. Hope you can find what works best for you. Cheers!

I just brewed the same "BRASS Ale" as they call it , on Friday. My 2nd AG brew.

I did a starter and the date on the package was 12/13/11. It was doing it's thang in 4 hours. But I used Wyeast 1098 British Ale, ferm set @ 68,