Ever freeze your yeast?

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Well I did by accident. Tossed bag in freezer which contained hops and yeast. White Labs 029 Kolsch. Is it ok to use?

 

[rossi46]

I did once, made a starter to check viability, and stepped it one more time just to make sure. Funny it was a Kolsch yeast also.
Beer came out great.

 

[Hopper5000]

I did once when I absently mindedly did what you did. I didn't want to risk it so I went out and bought another smack pack. On a future beer I used that one and another pack of the same yeast. It did swell a little but I think most of the yeast were dead. Freezing bursts their cell walls. However, making a starter and stepping it up would probably provide enough yeast for a low gravity beer.

 

[kh54s10]

I freeze my yeast... but I do it on purpose. Search for frozen yeast bank. I do it so I can get many brews from one buy of a yeast strain.

In an accidental freezing scenario I would make a small starter to see if it was still viable then step up for the brew if it was OK. No sense in throwing it away without checking. A $ or so of DME is better than $7 -$9 + for new yeast if it is not necessary.

 

[el_caro]

i freeze my yeast... But i do it on purpose. Search for frozen yeast bank. I do it so i can get many brews from one buy of a yeast strain.

In an accidental freezing scenario i would make a small starter to see if it was still viable then step up for the brew if it was ok. No sense in throwing it away without checking. A $ or so of dme is better than $7 -$9 + for new yeast if it is not necessary.

+1

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

interesting how there have been no yes or no answers. "making a starter and stepping it up" how do I do that? I think I will just go over to White Labs after work and get their opinions

 

[Brewskii]

interesting how there have been no yes or no answers. "making a starter and stepping it up" how do I do that? I think I will just go over to White Labs after work and get their opinions

How do you make a starter?

Or how do you step a starter?

Yeast is very resilient and due to the numbers of cells the odds are in your favor that you can grow them up to a pitch able number of cells by making a starter and letting it ferment out and then cold crash/ decant the initial starter and re-pitch that yeast to another starter to grow the viable cells until you have enough to pitch.

Your checking viability by seeing if it grows and increasing your total number of cells by growing whatever proves to be viable, all at the same time!

 

[goosegrease]

I did the same thing with a lager yeast. It sucks to be stupid! Went wyeast site and found this;


17. What should you do if the yeast is frozen?

Thaw out in fridge. Activate and assess the time that it takes to swell. If there is no activation within 24 hrs, do not use. If there is activation, make a starter to revive culture.
I was on a tight schedule so I went and picked up another smackpack and dumped them both in my starter. I figured it was not worth the risk when I factored in my time and material making a batch of beer. Just my take on it.
Jim

 

[Gameface]

Well I did by accident. Tossed bag in freezer which contained hops and yeast. White Labs 029 Kolsch. Is it ok to use?

Yes*

*provided you make a large enough starter and/or step your starter up a few times.

(yay a yes or no answer, sort of)

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

I decided to just get another yeast....I can't see spending $$ on a yeast starter kit when I probably would never use it again

 

[Hopper5000]

i found that making a starter greatly improved the quality of my beers. You don't hve to get too fancy, simply a growler or a 1 gallon jug and a funnel will do

 

[Brewskii]

I decided to just get another yeast....I can't see spending $$ on a yeast starter kit when I probably would never use it again

Proper cell Counts Are an essential step on the path to good beer. If your pitching a sufficient Amount of yeast in your brews, assuming your doing like >\=4.5% ABV brews and >\=5 gallon batch size, what you pay for yeast of undetermined health at the LHBS would quickly pay for the cost of a cheap starter Kit and some DME.
I would have thought White Labs would steer you toward starters , much like the FAQ's on the website do.


http://www.whitelabs.com/faq/beer-amateur

" The shelf life for White Labs Yeast is four months. Yeast used after this point is usually fine, but lag times will be longer. There will be living yeast in most vials for 6-12 months, so if a starter is made to activate the yeast, successful fermentations can be carried out with aged yeast."

 

[Brewskii]

Of course, now that I've looked at it for a while I see that they really don't talk about starters much ($$)

 

[funnycreature]

I'm sure that a starter kit can be economical enough to make up what you save in NOT buying fresh yeast very quickly. I have frozen 15-20 vials of a starter culture that I made from various yeast strains. Say I have to pay $2 per new starter in LME the savings still add up quickly. There are tons of great ideas how to make starter equipment for very little. Another benefit of having yeast cultures at home is that you can spontaneously brew without trip to the LHBS!