Buying Yeast Online

I live in NYC and belive it or not there isnt a home brew supply store within an hour from me and I dont have a car. So the only convenient way to get supplies is on the internet. My question is: Yeast (especially lager) is supposed to be kept in the refrigerator until it is going to be used, so is buying it online not a good option? It takes about 2 days to get to my house so that means it is unrefrigerated for 48 hours.

bulleitb said:

I live in NYC and belive it or not there isnt a home brew supply store within an hour from me and I dont have a car. So the only convenient way to get supplies is on the internet. My question is: Yeast (especially lager) is supposed to be kept in the refrigerator until it is going to be used, so is buying it online not a good option? It takes about 2 days to get to my house so that means it is unrefrigerated for 48 hours.

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Lots of people order yeast to be shipped over much larger distances and still do just fine. I've had liquid yeast take a week to get to me, in the summer, with only a small ice pack (which melts well before it arrives) and still be just fine. You've got nothing to worry about, especially at this time of year.

Dry yeast is perfectly fine to ship. For liquid yeasts, most online dealers (including Midwest) offer an ice pack kind of thing for a dollar or two extra.

Also, I've had Wyeast smack packs sent to me that took about 5 days with no ice or anything and it was fine.

Too bad! I lived in Midtown for 15 years and there was a homebrew place just south of Union square. I bought a homebrew kit for my Dad a kit in 1995, he said it was the best gift he ever got! Sadly I got it back when he died in 2005 but its nice in a way. every time I use parts of the equipment I think about him.

I did check and I be damned if I can find a homebrew shop anywhere in the City now.

I'd say use dry yeast as much as possible, there are dry lager yeasts available today. You could also plan out your schedule and buy liquid yeasts during cool weather.

Austin Home Brew supply ships yeast with ice packs (they're $0.99 each, but I keep them. [See also: "Building a Frozen Yeast Bank"]) that are slightly cold after I get them.

In any case, the only "bad" yeast I've ever had was a vial from my LHBS. I like to harvest yeast, so I certainly build up starters no matter what temps I get the yeast in at.

This time of year you should have no issues, but if you are worried just use dry yeast.

FWIW, over the summer I only had one package of liquid yeast go dead on me. Every other one was fine. Which brings me to another point. If you don't have any dry yeast on hand, it might be a good idea to buy some of that too. IMO, it is always a good idea to have a packet of dry yeast in the fridge just in case. Especially since you don't have a LHBS.

I've only bought yeast in person once. All the other times have been online. No worries