So, my yeast froze.

We were supposed to host a New Years party last week, which didn't pan out due to the Snowpocalypse that hit the upper central midwest. I figured Sunday would be a good day to brew, so Tuesday morning I put in an order to Midwest for some odds and ends and their Amarillo Pale ale kit that I'm planning on tweaking. Apparently I underestimated their holiday shipping volume, because my order didn't make it to the FedEx truck until Thursday night (3 days instead of the usual 1), and it sat on that truck until early this morning. When I pulled out the pack of Wyeast 1332, it was a solid brick of ice.

Wyeast says if it swells, it's probably alright, just make a starter. This was going to be my first experiment with yeast starters to see what kind of a difference they make in the end result, but now I'm curious if I should step this pouch up more than once (i.e. the freezing significantly impacted the viability and I'm starting with fewer cells that I otherwise would be with a fresh pack).

Thoughts? I don't have access to a stir plate, but SWMBO works from home, so she can give the starter a swirl every hour or so. The pack was mfg 12/13/2010. Mr. Malty says I need a 1.39 liter starter (198 billion cells for 5.25g of 1.054 wort)

Here's a picture of the snow ridiculous drift in front of my house

Holy snowstorm...You got a delivery in that?

You will probably have to decant and refill several times. Liquid yeast will die if frozen. Chances are that a few of them survived, but you could potentially be starting with only 1% of a normal healthy pack. Hopefully you will have a lot more than that, but be prepared.

You will see how much you have (relatively) as they start to settle out in the starter.

Warped04 said:

Holy snowstorm...You got a delivery in that?

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lol, no, that was the problem actually. Normally my midwest orders are at my office the morning after I get a tracking number. The interstate was closed between here and Saint Paul, so my shipment sat in a 0°F Truck for 3 whole days.

And that's why I'm happy I no longer live in MPLS...

I would make sure you get a spare pack of dry yeast. The MWS Amarillo Ale uses California/American Ale, so it calls for a nice, clean yeast signature. Get a pack of Safale US-05 or just another pack of the liquid.

BTW, I brewed this on the 29th and it smells amazing! I hope yours comes out great as well! Best of luck!

I'm a little surprised: the pack is actually making a halfhearted attempt at swelling. I busted the inner pouch after 8 , so we're at just under 3 hours. IIRC it'd normally be a near-burst inflation levels by now, and it's probably half that

Yep, pop the thing and let it go as long as possible to try to get it to "ferment out". The inside of that WYeast pack is way more sanitary than any starter or growing method you can employ at home, so give it every chance to grow in that pouch first.

You may also want to try stepping the starter with a smaller initial starter too, especially if it was slow growth as you described.

Id let midwest know about the frozen pack. They have always been very good about getting me stuff right out that was damaged in shipments.

BoundForBeer said:

Id let midwest know about the frozen pack. They have always been very good about getting me stuff right out that was damaged in shipments.

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I was hoping they'd send one, but I called last night and they said they'd do so only if the pack didn't swell, but if it did, make a starter and it should be fine. I made a 1.5L starter this morning (the pack had swelled fully by the time I got up this a.m) and it's happily fermenting. I'm not sure if SWMBO swirled it at all, but I just got home for lunch, and there was a decent yeast cake on the bottom.

At this point, I think if I step it up once I might be alright? *shrug*

dmercer said:

At this point, I think if I step it up once I might be alright? *shrug*

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You should be ok then, go for it.

Here's the results 24 hours after pitching into the starter. I don't think it's completely done yet, so I gave it a swirl and got everything back up into suspension. We'll see what it looks like tonight when I get home from work.

Thought I'd post a reply for anyone interested. I decanted and pitched about 4 hours ago. Here's the results:



About an hour after pitching there were some yeast rafts on the surface, and I just peeked in one last time to find a krausen starting to form :rockin:

I'm pleasantly surprised. This stuff sat at 0°F for 3 days in a truck, and it's already taking off. Hopefully the beer turns out. Today was my fourth all-grain batch, and it went better than ever