How long can we save Ale yeast in the fridge.

[lumbergh]

I just did my first starter to test out the stir plate I built. The yeast slurry has been in the fridge for almost a year. How do I tell that it's alive? It's been on the stir plate for almost 2 days. I used fermcap.

I checked the gravity and it fermented, so Lutra is good in the fridge for a while

 

[McMullan]

So Lutra is good in the fridge for a while.

No, not necessarily. Maybe for you, your slurry, fridge and your expectations, but what does 'good' actually translate to? What did you actually do, in terms of making a starter? How does that compare with pitching the same stuff into a batch of FV wort?

 

[Miraculix]

Based on my own observations, lutra and Voss are both yeasts that started almost without any lag time even after more than six months in the jar in the fridge without any feeding in between. And I've always only used a few tablespoons for a full batch...... I've had a lot of other yeasts fail after less storage time but these kveiks seem to be the most sturdy little fellows I've seen so far.

But I'm with @McMullan here, I'd always make a starter if not pitching directly on the yeast cake from the previous batch. I've had too many mediocre beers that could have been great beers and too many ruined batches due to underpitching because of weak or dead slurries.

Keep in mind that the weaker and older the yeast gets, the more other stuff will be growing in the jar as well. If this mix gets pitched, it's a tough one for the weak yeast to outcompete the other organisms if the numbers of them are already big.

 

[bracconiere]

I always aim to please

Fun, Fun!

observed soon enough under a microscope,

Suspenseful cliffhanger!

few times to average out variable eyesight

i hope this isn't one of those shows where they uninvented the steady cam!


i ordered 1% methylene blue solution, i tried figuring out how many gram to dilute to 0.1%....ended up just saying when i get it tomorrow, i'll grab couple drops of it, a spoonful of the slurry, mix it up watch the clock...wait a minute, then do a smear on this piece of plastic...and not worry about cell counts per-say, just eye ball how many are blue out of the bunch.....

i'll post a pic here, should be fun win or lose...more fun then the $15 equivelent movie ticket!

 

[Dr_Jeff]

excited to do my first super duper cell count, got the haemogrid thingy printed already! just a week of anxiously waiting for the scope!

View attachment 770530

(the lines are clearer in real life.....just add a known amount of water, count one of the tiny squares...multiply by number of blot...look at dead vs. living cells...

i'll help you be the best brewer ever! honestly, i never gave a f about this! but now that i know i can get a scope for $15, sounds like fun!)

With your brick of yeast, why bother?

 

[bracconiere]

With your brick of yeast, why bother?

like that comment from kirk in which ever star trek film when he was climbing the mountain, and asked "why?" and his response was "because it's there...."

 

[McMullan]

i ordered 1% methylene blue solution, i tried figuring out how many gram to dilute to 0.1%.

About 1ml in 9ml distilled water from the fish shop. Ideally, filter the working solution through a coffee filter at least.

 

[bracconiere]

About 1ml in 9ml distilled water from the fish shop.

for some reason i get the idea the one i bought is sold as a health food though?

and i'm not even really trying to pretend this is a lab...i just want to see if a $15 microscope couple drops methylene blue, usb port...would be as usefull as a iodine thing for a mash....but for a yeast slurry.....


(and yeah 9/56....is .16! thanks for that i spent 20 minutes laughing about how it should be simple! and yet confused out of my mind )

 

[bracconiere]

well here's the starting point for this expirement...what looks like one dead cell, it was put in the fridge on saturday afternoon...

 

[bwible]

like that comment from kirk in which ever star trek film when he was climbing the mountain, and asked "why?" and his response was "because it's there...."

But “life is not a dream.”

 

[BrewingWisdom]

well i got my $15 microscope....and i can say i see cells! they're clear so i need to wait on the methylene blue dye, but for $30 i'll be able to say for sure how long a yeast slurry stays good in the fridge and how viable it stays....i'm uploading a video of the thing with the cells....but the video is 245MB big and i've only got 700kb up speed.....well to hell with waiting for 45 minutes....

here are a couple snaps...

View attachment 770832View attachment 770833


those might look like drops of water on the lense, but they are actually what i'm pretty sure are yeast cells floating around, because on live video, they are floating and moving... and i think that clump is what makes this a top fermenting yeast, another question that was asked.....

pretty cool gadget for $15....going to be fun when i get the methylene blue to dye this stuff! should have it monday!

here's a better view of a cell....




View attachment 770835


never would i have thought i'd be looking at yeast cells! thanks man!

Sorry for the late reply pal.
I was busy somewhere.
Thanks for those snaps , that's some intellectual stuff right there.
My beer is nearing secondary fermentation in the bottles and soon I will let you know the results. Super excited to try my first ever bootleg beer full of rebellion (just kidding)

 

[bracconiere]

Thanks for those snaps , that's some intellectual stuff right there.

new to me too! never would have had the idea to even try it if it wasn't for you inspiring, having a lot of fun with it!

enjoy your drink!

 

[amber-ale]

New methylin blue?

 

[bwible]

I have a 5th generation Wyeast London Ale. Been in the fridge for one year. Sitting under 10.5% ABV beer.
We were going to dump it, but it has no tell-tale signs of having gone bad.

Every time I get a 1056 I make at least 6 beers out of it. I have at one time made 10 with the same yeast. But I usually don’t take it off in between. I brew one beer after the other continiuous and put each beer on top of the same yeast after racking the previous beer off. I plan beers in advance and work light to dark, weak to strong, the same way judges judge. I brew 3 gallon batches which is about half of what other people are brewing so I like to feel like I’m getting some value out of my $10-$12 pack of yeast by the time they ship it and throw in a freezer pack.

I have saved some off from time to time because I wasn’t ready to brew. I used to use a beer bottle or a wine bottle fitted with a stopper and airlock. Now 1 use a 1L erlenmeyer flask with a stopper and airlock. I don’t have a stir plate or anything special.

I’d agree about a week, after that you need a starter. They sell starter wort now in cans you can buy to make life easy.

I don’t yeast ranch or freeze yeast. I tried it a couple times and ended up contaminated every time. I’m not trying to keep one yeast going indefinitely. The only time I’ve had the urge to do that is when I finally got my hands on a limited release strain that I was after for a long time.

After so many beers I will just dump the yeast and get a new pack. That gives me more options and more variety anyway.

But yes, there is nothing wrong with saving and re-using yeast.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

You can easily store harvested yeast for up to 30 days at 33 degrees F. Best to use sooner rather than later, however.
It can remain viable for up to three months.

 

[Miraculix]

You can easily store harvested yeast for up to 30 days at 33 degrees F. Best to use sooner rather than later, however.
It can remain viable for up to three months.

There are no straight and reliable numbers like that. I've had properly stored English yeast fail after two or three weeks in the fridge and I've had kveik slurry that got straight to work after over six months in the jar.

Best is to always make a starter, at least a vitality starter, to check if the yeast is still usable. Unless you have kveik.... Kveik just doesn't care

 

[Oleson M.D.]

Just reporting our experience over the last 33 years of brewing. Pretty reliable, if stored properly.

We rarely (if ever) use a starter.

 

[Miraculix]

Just reporting our experience over the last 33 years of brewing. Pretty reliable, if stored properly.

We rarely (if ever) use a starter.

Cool story, exactly that workflow ruined about 5 beers of mine before I changed to always using a starter. Maybe we are using different yeasts.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

Cool story, exactly that workflow ruined about 5 beers of mine before I changed to always using a starter. Maybe we are using different yeasts.

Wyeast, W-34/70, Saflager, Diamond Lager, Nottingham, etc. Mostly dry yeasts now.
Never had any issues. The only issue we have experienced was two times there was a diacetyl presence. But that was easily fixed. As stated, best to use within 7 - 10 days of harvesting.
Again, we never use a starter unless it's a first generation liquid yeast.

 

[Miraculix]

Wyeast, W-34/70, Saflager, Diamond Lager, Nottingham, etc. Mostly dry yeasts now.
Never had any issues. The only issue we have experienced was two times there was a diacetyl presence. But that was easily fixed. As stated, best to use within 7 - 10 days of harvesting.
Again, we never use a starter unless it's a first generation liquid yeast.

All the issues I had were based on liquid yeasts. Dry yeasts seem to be more sturdy in that regard.

 

[odie]

I've used year old slurry without a starter. kicks off in a day or so.