White labs expired yeast

[Shooey852002]

Picked up white labs Bavarian yeast from my local hb shop,to find the refrigerator was blowing hot air on there liquid yeast for a day and out of date for 4 months. Would anybody use it or should I xxxx can it

 

[IslandLizard]

to find the refrigerator was blowing hot air on there liquid yeast for a day

How do you know it was only one day?
If it were, that's not all that bad.

and out of date for 4 months

That's bad news, and inexcusable if not clearly marked as such, and well discounted.

The upside is, WhiteLabs' PerfectPitch sleeves are designed to keep yeast healthier and more vital than any other packaging. Decline is estimated to be between 3-6% per month, so 10 months old yeast (4 months past a 6-months exp. date), would still be 40-70% viable if kept under cool (34-36°F) conditions.

Definitely needs a good size starter for a few days. Even more so if it's a Lager yeast meant to ferment at cooler temps. Regardless, not pitch, as is, into a 5-6 gallon batch without making a starter first.

Have you contacted the store about the age issue?

 

[Shooey852002]

Ya,I got half off ,bought lots of stuff off him in the past there's no problem,I think I'll buy another on line

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Picked up white labs Bavarian yeast from my local hb shop,to find the refrigerator was blowing hot air on there liquid yeast for a day and out of date for 4 months. Would anybody use it or should I xxxx can it

Lager yeast is somewhat (~5-10F) more temperature-sensitive than ale yeast, but you'll probably be fine. The only way you can know for sure is to see if it grows in a starter, and your odds should be pretty good - I've revived 4+ year-old White Labs yeast in the past :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...quid-yeast-after-the-best-before-date.697114/

 

[Shooey852002]

OK thanks

 

[IslandLizard]

I think I'll buy another on line

Shipping liquid yeast during hot summer days/weeks is not recommended.
Chances are those will need a starter too, before you have the correct pitchable amount of cells.

http://www.brewunited.com/yeast_calculator.php
Really, making a starter is fairly easy. A clean gallon jug, some DME (or LME), and good sanitation are all you need. Plenty of instructions around on this forum.

 

[Bassman2003]

The best way is the method described in the Chris White "Yeast" book. Make a small-ish starter like 500ml, throw the suspected dead yeast in the wort and let sit at room temp for a few days. any live, active yeast cells will go into suspension. Pour the liquid only off of the 500ml starter. Put this into the fridge and see how much settles out. Then make a new starter according to how many cells you have. Maybe go with a 250ml as the first step then prop up to 2L for next step etc... by 10x each.

This is the best way to cast aside the dead cells and truly start with viable cells. If you just chuck the old packet into wort then pitch that into your brew you are just transporting dead yeast cells around!