Destroyed Yeast Starter - How long can I wait?

[jbsengineer]

Figures with my first try at a lager I screw something up. I brewed a 12 gallon batch of Schwartzbier yesterday. Put it in my conical at 5pm Saturday. Took a bit to chill down to ~50 degrees. When I went to go pitch the yeast starter I have been stepping up it was frozen....

Should I run out and grab some S-23 Dry Lager yeast? I read it's not a very good tasting yeast for a lager (too fruity).

How long can I keep the beer chilled at 44-50 degrees without adding yeast? I might be able to grab some liquid lager yeast today and build a huge starter and pitch tomorrow. But that would be almost two days without yeast.

HELP!!! Thanks!

 

[bottlebomber]

Believe it or not, the yeast is probably fine after you thaw it. One time my buddy ordered some brewing ingredients for me to brew for him, and he put the Wyeast smack packs in the freezer, for weeks. When he finally got them to me I just said to heck with it and let them thaw, then smacked them. They swelled up like normal. Yeast are tough lil buggers.

 

[jbsengineer]

Believe it or not, the yeast is probably fine after you thaw it. One time my buddy ordered some brewing ingredients for me to brew for him, and he put the Wyeast smack packs in the freezer, for weeks. When he finally got them to me I just said to heck with it and let them thaw, then smacked them. They swelled up like normal. Yeast are tough lil buggers.

I suppose I could pitch them and work on another starter tonight to give it a little boost tomorrow?

 

[bottlebomber]

I suppose I could pitch them and work on another starter tonight to give it a little boost tomorrow?

You could do it for peace of mind, but I have faith in the starter you already have. Guaranteed the conditions under which lager yeast strains developed they were frozen for a good part of the year.

 

[jbsengineer]

I ended up pitching the original yeast, and it was starting to ferment (at 44 degrees). I also pitched another 350-400 billion cells for a little boost the day after. It's at about 50 degrees now and fermenting nicely! Thanks for the help!