Lifespan of yeast cake

[hialtitude]

Is there a lifespan for one yeast cake? I am talking about theoretically brewing say once a week and pitching onto the same yeast cake again and again. How many batches would be appropriate assuming that the recipe was the same each time? Problems?

 

[david_42]

5-6 batches is a good guideline, but you'll have to remove part of the cake after the second batch. Otherwise, you end up with a huge cake. I've never gone past three, mainly because I don't brew the same thing repeatedly.

 

[hialtitude]

Good thoughts, I didn't think about the volume of the cake. Anybody reused the same cake more than a few times?

 

[Smogre]

I've gone to 4 batches before. I won't push my luck.