Dry yeast in the freezer, will it still work?

[BeehiveBrewer]

I goofed and accidentally threw all of my unused supplies in the freezer, including a packet of dry ale yeast. It has been in there about 18 days. Is it still usable?

I have a stuck fermentation, and now I realized I froze my backup packet.

Can I save it?

Thanks again,
Beehive

 

[bradsul]

Because there is so little moisture in them I doubt freezing would destroy the cell walls.

Let it warm to room temperature for a few hours, then rehydrate properly and if they appear to wake up I would go ahead and pitch. If you want to be really safe you could add a small amount of sugar and see there is any action.

The flip side being, dry yeast is really cheap, if you have a LHBS why even risk it? Just buy more.

 

[RichBrewer]

I agree with bradsul. The yeast might be OK because it is dry. If you can't get to the store to buy more, try making a starter with it and make sure it is viable.

 

[boo boo]

It better be OK as I keep all my dry yeast in my freezer and it is too late to tell me that all the beer that I have brewed using this frozen yeast is no good AFTER I have drank all those kegs of beer.
Well I haven't drank it all. There are still some kegs left.

 

[malkore]

I'm pretty sure some guys here maintain frozen yeast banks from liquid cultures...so I'm sure that dry sachet is just peachy.

 

[david_42]

I've kept dry yeast in the freezer without any problem.

 

[BeehiveBrewer]

Thanks again guys!