Using old washed yeast

[rbenn]

Hi, I just wanted to share my recent results with using washed yeast. Back in February of this year I washed some Wyeast American Ale yeast and stored it in a few small mason jars using the method found on this forum.

Fast forward to last week I used the same yeast slurry and pitched it into a 400 mL 1.020 DME starter with a sprinkle of yeast nutrients on a stir plate. It seemed to be active (saw signs of a past krasuen) so two days later I chilled and re-pitched the yeast into a 1L 1.030 DME starter. After a few days I again chilled and re-pitched the yeast into a 500 mL 1.060 DME starter. During the last pitch I saw the krausen rise a few hours after the pitch acknowledging the presumed yeast activity. I chilled and decanted the last starter and put it into a 1.066 OG Maibock I just brewed last night. I came back from work today to find it coming along quite well.

So far using this 10 month old washed yeast doesn't seem to be an issue. The starters all smelled amazing and tasted very dry and no off taste so I imagine the yeast was doing a pretty good job. I'll have to wait a few months to find out how it tastes.

 

[JohnSand]

Thanks. While some say washed yeast has a short life, I think I've read reports of people using it a year or more later. I like your ten month success.

 

[CA_Mouse]

I did the same thing (not 10 months though). I brewed a Belgian Golden Rye on 9/1 that finished out at 1.013 & 6.4% ABV. I rinsed the yeast on 9/15 and stored it in the fridge in 8 oz ball jars (4 jars each with about 125 ml of slurry). I pitched one into a 2 liter starter of 1.040, crashed and decanted then pitched into another Belgian Golden Rye. Yeast was crazy within 4 hours and finished at 1.007 for 9.1% ABV. I did not save this yeast cake figuring that the yeast was most likely stressed beyond trying to use it again (besides, I still have 3 jars of the original slurry left).