Is color an indication of yeast health?

[JohnK93]

I had some 2nd gen 1318 that was washed from a brew back in February. I thought I'd use it sooner but haven't gotten back to it yet, so I threw it on the stir plate with some starter wort last night. It's definitely active but the starter is a bit of a murky brownish color. It's got a nice smell...kind of like walking into Tree House

Is color or appearance any indication of yeast health, or is this more a factor of the strain and wort? What about smell? In other words, is there any way to tell whether this yeast is worth using (without lab equipment) or if I should toss it? I'm not planning using this right away, I just had some extra starter wort that I had to use.

Thanks,
John

 

[Yooper]

If it's a bad smell, or black, it's definitely not usable. I had a saved yeast that didn't smell quite right, but I used it anyway. I had 5.25 gallons of band-aid beer.

If it looks and smells good, it probably is good.

 

[JohnK93]

If it's a bad smell, or black, it's definitely not usable. I had a saved yeast that didn't smell quite right, but I used it anyway. I had 5.25 gallons of band-aid beer.

If it looks and smells good, it probably is good.

Thanks! It’s not black, and it smells like...well, like a brewery. Here a pics of the settled yeast:

I’ll probably use it for my next brew.