How long til yeast ineffective

[tojo]

As life does it got in the way of my brewing. I was going to make a new batch and slapped my Wyeast (1084 Irish Ale) pack. The pack sat for 24 hours and swelled nicely. Well it has been sitting for 5 days (room temp) because I haven't had a chance to brew. The pack was still swollen so I just threw it into my flask to make a starter as I didn't want to pitch it into a batch and have it be wasted because my yeast is no longer good.

So after all that any opinions from the forum? Is it still good ot just throw out the yeast and buy new?

 

[rjwhite41]

You've probably lost some viability but it should be fine with the starter like you are doing.

 

[Golddiggie]

Using a starter means you'll know (fairly soon) if the yeast is good, or has enough good cells left to do the job... Let the starter run until it fully ferments, and then use the slurry from it... Chances are, unless you had it in a HOT room/place, you'll have plenty of yeast in there to work with...

Think of it this way, was the pack in the 62-72F range? If so, then I wouldn't worry one bit... When the starter is done, use it...

 

[tojo]

Oh yeah, definitely for the room temp. The room it was in fluctuated between 66 - 72. Thanks for the info guys. I'll see how the starter turns out tomorrow afternoon.