Yeast In The Mail For Too Long? Does it go bad?

[jerryodom]

I'm still pretty new to brewing. Anyhow we ordered some supplies from Austin Home Brew and it took unusually long so it took like 4-5 days to ship. The yeast is the White Labs stuff that comes in vials and when I unpacked it the temperature must've been 80 degrees.(the vial temperature)

I'm curious about how fragile this stuff is? Does it go bad easily or is it pretty tough? The vial just says to keep in the refrigerator until use? Is that just to prolong how long it's good or will heat damage it?

 

[Beerrific]

More than likely it will be fine. Make a starter, it good practice for liquid yeast and will let you know if the cells are viable.

 

[sudbuster]

I'm still pretty new to brewing. Anyhow we ordered some supplies from Austin Home Brew and it took unusually long so it took like 4-5 days to ship. The yeast is the White Labs stuff that comes in vials and when I unpacked it the temperature must've been 80 degrees.(the vial temperature)

I'm curious about how fragile this stuff is? Does it go bad easily or is it pretty tough? The vial just says to keep in the refrigerator until use? Is that just to prolong how long it's good or will heat damage it?

Yes, heat damages yeast. In the temperatures we've been having lately, There is a chance the vial has saw a significant reduction of viability. It may be benificial to make a starter to revive the cell count up to pitching value.

 

[jerryodom]

Sounds good guys. I'll definitely try the starter for the experience and to see if it improves the fermentation.

Thank you! :rockin:

 

[TheJadedDog]

Make a starter (which you should do anyway) to determine if the yeast are viable, most likely they are.