Yeast Lifespan

[user 22118]

So I have heard that yeast has a lifespan of something like two months. If washing yeast and it is "asleep", why so little time? I have yeast in my fridge that I have had for 1-5months and I would love to brew from them if possible. Is there any chance?

 

[Revvy]

About 45 million years actually.....

45 million year old yeast ferments amber ale




Seriously though, Bobby M recently did a test on year old stored yeast here; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/testing-limits-yeast-viability-126707/

And my LHBS cells outdated tubes and packs of yeast dirt cheap 2-3 dollars each and I usually grab a couple tubes of belgian or other interesting yeast when I am there and shove it in my fridge. and I have never had a problem with one of those tubes. I usually make a starter but I once pitched a year old tube of Belgian High Gravity yeast directly into a 2.5 gallon batch of a Belgian Dark Strong, and after about 4 days it took off beautifully.

You just need first to apply the "sniff test" if it smell bad, especially if it smells like week old gorilla poop in a diaper left on the side of the road in the heat of summer.

Then make a starter, and if it takes off you are fine. The purpose of a starter is to reproduce any viable cells in a batch of yeast....that;s how we can grow a starter form the dregs in a bottle of beer incrementally...and that beer may be months old.

Even if you have a few still living cells, you can grow them....

 

[sudbuster]

So I have heard that yeast has a lifespan of something like two months. If washing yeast and it is "asleep", why so little time? I have yeast in my fridge that I have had for 1-5months and I would love to brew from them if possible. Is there any chance?

All I can say is that I have been out of homebrewing for over 2 years, but I stil lhad some of my old yeast in the fridge during that time. I revived a pack of 1728 which was over two years old. Several others of the same age didn't make it. Who knows ?

From my experience, 1- 5 months is a piece of cake. Put the contents of the pack into 500ml wort of 1.020 to 1.030. Then step up from there to the needed starter voluum. Good luck....

Edit: Revvy, Dang, I thought I had this one..... You Dawg