Help. Need advice on pitching expired yeast

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WhirlingBastard

WhirlingBastard

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I'm brewing Saturday and wanted to make my starter tonight and sent wife to beer store to grab two white labs Oktoberfest lager yeasts. Problem being they sold her yeast with expiration date on oldest saying April 17, 2009. The other says May 25, 2009.

If I go back 90 days to the production date and enter this into Mr. malty it says I need 9 with a 1.87L starter on my stir plate.

Question is should I go ahead and a make my starter with the two that I have and reject Mr. Malty?

Bonus question: When I do pitch do I need to get my starter at the 52- 57 temp that the yeast requires?
 
I'd bring them back and ask for fresh ones. If they won't work with you, I'd try to find another brew shop.
 
personally i would go get fresh yeast. but assuming your a good husband and dont want to make your wife feel silly i would make several starters. each taking the resulting yeast from the last. do this maybe 4 or 5 times. the yeast should then be pitched at a temp at or below your fermentation temp.
 
Yes make a starter....

My LHBS (cap n cork) sells outdated yeast dirt cheap, and I've used year old yeast with no problems.

The thing to realize is that if the yeast was well stored (i.e. cool) all that happens in that cells begin to lose their viability and die off. The purpose of a starter is to increase the population of the yeast, by causing them to reproduce in the presence of wort.

That's why we are able to grow incrementally huge starters and harvest of yeast from the dregs at the bottom of a bottle of beer.

So with any liquid yeast it is a great idea to rasie the population before pitching, that's why we recommend starters. (and that's why you should never ask about making a starter, with old or new yeast...that should be "knee jerk" in your brewing process.

And with older yeast it is even more important.

You'll be fine!!!!
 
I got a Belgian Wit yeast from my LHBS for $3 that had been exipred for 2 months. I made a 1.5L starter with it and made some really good beer.
 
I don't know the standards for setting an expiration date for yeast. For pills if they lose 5% of their potency, they're expired. They are still 95% potent, but that isn't good enough to sell. But pills won't make more chemicals on their own, at least not the right kind over time. Yeast will divide and multiply quite happily in the right circumstances--like wort. One becomes two becomes four becomes eight becomes sixteen, etc. You can do this without starting with many cells, if you allow some time. I just grew up a starter from the yeast residue in one bottle of Hoegaarden. We'll pitch it this weekend. Growing a starter from an expired packet should be a piece of cake, unless it has no viable cells at all. Just allow for some time for growth.

OT--What was the brewery in England that grew up yeast from some porter dug up from a 19th century shipwreck?
 
ThreeDogsNE said:
I don't know the standards for setting an expiration date for yeast. For pills if they lose 5% of their potency, they're expired. They are still 95% potent, but that isn't good enough to sell. But pills won't make more chemicals on their own, at least not the right kind over time. Yeast will divide and multiply quite happily in the right circumstances--like wort. One becomes two becomes four becomes eight becomes sixteen, etc. You can do this without starting with many cells, if you allow some time. I just grew up a starter from the yeast residue in one bottle of Hoegaarden. We'll pitch it this weekend. Growing a starter from an expired packet should be a piece of cake, unless it has no viable cells at all. Just allow for some time for growth.

OT--What was the brewery in England that grew up yeast from some porter dug up from a 19th century shipwreck?
Click to expand...

Old Flag or something like that. Comes in a 4 pack with a ship on it. I do know that it's really tasty.
 

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