Five year old smack pack

[BrewerE]

My dad had a buddy that he made wine with. Said buddy also brewed beer. Buddy died and dad ended up with his yeast. I now have a smack pack of Wyeast 1084 with a born on date of Sept 2015.

Not worth the trouble, I'm assuming?

 

[smcinco]

Why not? I just resurrected some wlp002 and 022 from around that time period. Maybe cut open the smack pack to get the yeast packet out and pour into a fresh starter. On the other hand the snack pack might be the right size starter. You have a built in viability check: if it inflates, all good. Just bump it up with a starter and you’re all set.

 

[IslandLizard]

Kept in fridge all the time or in a box in the basement?
The former would be more promising. It really needs a step-up starter.
As in: 250ml 1.010 starter wort, then into 500ml of 1.020, before 1 liter of 1.040. Then on to 2-3 liters. Stir plate or shaker would help a lot. Will take about a week to 10 days to grow a pitchable starter.

BTW, the yeast is in the body of the smack pack itself, not in a separate packet. The nutrient bubble can be used, sure.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I'd toss it. Assuming this is a strain and style you would choose in the first place, a fresh smack pack is a small investment relative to the cost of the ingredients, time and energy involved in brewing a batch of beer. OTOH, if you aren't determined to brew with it but you also don't want it to go to waste you could always pitch it during the last 10 minutes of the boil as a yeast nutrient.

 

[smcinco]

Kept in fridge all the time or in a box in the basement?
The former would be more promising. It really needs a step-up starter.
As in: 250ml 1.010 starter wort, then into 500ml of 1.020, before 1 liter of 1.040. Then on to 2-3 liters. Stir plate or shaker would help a lot. Will take about a week to 10 days to grow a pitchable starter.

BTW, the yeast is in the body of the smack pack itself, not in a separate packet. The nutrient bubble can be used, sure.

Ah, gotcha. Makes sense. I’ve never cut one open.

In any event, in my experience there’ll at least be a bit of viability regardless of storage conditions. I had put the vials I recently resurrected in a my non temp controlled garage years ago (to save for white labs’ freebie) and was pleasantly surprised when they came back to life.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I would only bother with resurrecting ancient yeast if it was no longer available or if it happened to be a favorite strain.

 

[VikeMan]

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

 

[BrewerE]

I'm assuming it was kept in the fridge, and I'm not married to it, not really interested in a starter, and in fact, have never used liquid yeast...have been brewing for 8+ yrs and have only used 05/04/34-70 dry yeasts

I'll probably just toss it.

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm assuming it was kept in the fridge, and I'm not married to it, [...]

I'll probably just toss it.

But, but, but... aren't you brewing a commemorative beer for your dad's buddy? That's only proper, isn't it?

How about this? Brew an extra gallon of wort of whatever you're brewing next, put that in a small fermenter, and pitch this good old yeast in that gallon, as is, where is. I'm sure it'll make beer...
Smack that pack a few hours beforehand, for good measure.

 

[Cottonmouth]

Sounds like a fun experiment. Brew one for Buddy.

 

[kevink]

Trash it. Not worth the hassle.

 

[BrewerE]

But, but, but... aren't you brewing a commemorative beer for your dad's buddy? That's only proper, isn't it?

How about this? Brew an extra gallon of wort of whatever you're brewing next, put that in a small fermenter, and pitch this good old yeast in that gallon, as is, where is. I'm sure it'll make beer...
Smack that pack a few hours beforehand, for good measure.

that's not a terrible idea...maybe I'll try that.

 

[Jayjay1976]

that's not a terrible idea...maybe I'll try that.

No, it is an objectively terrible idea. Who drinks it? When? On his next birthday? Anniversary of his death? What if it tastes like boiled ass? Do you choke it down anyway or dump it? Commemorative consumables are a terrible idea. If you do brew it and drink it, will you play taps at 2AM as you piss it out? Burial at sea? It's beer FFS.

 

[BrewerE]

It's beer FFS.

Exactly, and you've spent more time and consternation on it than I have/am gonna.
I didn't even really care for the guy, but he was always nice to me and we could talk about beer, so if I want to (potentially) waste a gallon of wort on what is, in fact, a decent idea, I'd drink it myself whenever the fcck I felt like...assuming the yeast was viable, which, is what my original question was.

also, I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME, now move along if you have no other input.

 

[12pack]

yep.. the question was not if he should, but if he could...
personally, i would, if for nothing else, to find out for SCIENCE..
if it makes a great beer: win
if it is ass... run it through the still a few times, and still win...

 

[Jayjay1976]

...if it is ass... run it through the still a few times, and still win...

And if that doesn't fix it up...hand sanitizer!