Dry yeast not refrigerated

I was traveling in Orlando and picked up some yeast I can't get at home. 2 packs of Montrachet and 2 packs of Nottingham. Now I was probably stupid as I was in the store and noticed they were on the shelf and not refrigerated but I bought them anyway. The date is good, 12/2011 and08/2010. The store was probably around 72 F. They are chilling in the mini fridge in the hotel.

Do you think they are still good?

Yes, I think they're fine. Ideally, they would have been refrigerated, but they can certainly be left out without any problem.

I was just wondering if I wasted my money but I feel better now. All warm and fuzzy.

Thanks,

planenut said:

I was just wondering if I wasted my money but I feel better now. All warm and fuzzy.

Thanks,

Click to expand...

That's the beer talking! Warm and fuzzy is why I drink.

Dry yeast isn't very fragile, and it's ok that it was left unrefrigerated. It would be worse to have frequent temperature changes, or to be close to freezing. It seems like it's pretty fresh, too, if your expiration date is two years in the future.

None of the LHBSes I've been to refrigerate dry yeast. They should still be fine at room temp at least to the expiration date, and will last past the expiration date if refrigerated. You got no worries, dry yeast is quite stable.

I was at a LHBS in Fayetteville, NC called Grapes & Hops.

Their dry yeasts and hops were in bins along the wall...not refrigerated.

The person behind the counter knew NOTHING about homebrewing.

They have a GREAT selection of brews for sale, but not enough HB supplies IMO.

The two local HB shops near me do not refridgerate dry yeast either. There is also nothing on the package about refridgeration and the date on some Montrachet I just bought is late 2012.

From Danstar site

"All active dried yeast should be stored dry and below 8°C. The packaging should remain intact.
• Activity loss is about 25% per year at 8°C and 50% per year at 22°C in unopened sealed packs"

I keep it in the fridge at at times.

I keep mine in the freezer. I don't know if its better or worse to keep them that cold. I just figured I would store them with my hops...

Most HBS don't refridgerate but I do. The Fermentis (safale) website says to fridge opened packs. It can't hurt i don't think.

BTW I've been to a homebrew shop that kept their hops on shelves in non-airtight baggies in the sunlight. They were yellow/brown and dry to the touch with little aroma.