yeast cake lifespan

[Joe028]

Apology's in advance if I could have found this with the search feature, but I was looking for a quick answer.

I brewed an IPA with the WYeast 1272 American Ale II yeast on December 22. After 5 days I put an airlock on it thinking that I would be brewing right away and would pitch onto that yeast cake. It has been in my garage at cool temperatures. Is it okay to pitch on top of that yeast cake safely or does the cool temp and time spent alone with no brew on top of it ruin it? So basically it was lonely yeast in that sealed bucket for a total of 8 days in my cold garage. Thanks for any help.

Joe

 

[david_42]

If the cake has started to autolyse, one whiff is all it takes. I suspect you'll be fine. I've used cakes after two weeks in the winter.

 

[fshnne1]

new to brewing, question why would you pitch on top of a existing cake would you not just dump it out and start over, if you dso use existing does it effect flavour??????

 

[Yooper]

You reuse the yeast cake for a couple of reasons- one to save money. Not important or worth it for 99 cent Notthingham, but if you used a $7 liquid yeast with a starter, you've got time and money involved. Secondly, it's like a big starter- you'll have a fast start with very little lag time.

It CAN impart flavors, though. You wouldn't put a light amber ale on an IPA cake, or on a Belgian yeast cake. But you could put a stout on a nut brown, for example. And you wouldn't use a yeast cake from a big beer like barleywine on a little sessions beer. The gravity should be close to the original, or put the higher gravity beer on the smaller not the other way around.

Lorena

 

[cweston]

What's the temp range in your garage? If it has frozen, that could be a problem. Yeasties do not like to be frozen.