Yeast still good?

[rhys333]

Hey guys,
I pulled my 1469 yeast out of the fridge, cracked the lid and it immediately started bubbling. There was 125ml of solid compact yeast in the bottom that 5 minutes later looks like you see in the attached pic. Smells okay, but is this good or might it have mutated? Btw, its maybe generation 7 or 8.

View attachment 1428344032803.jpg

 

[brew_ny]

how does it smell? looks like good healthy yeast to me

I go with the sniff test if the yeast smells bad then it is bad, did it mutate maybe

all the best

S_M

 

[rhys333]

Thanks sm. It doesnt smell bad but its not bready as i might expect. Has a slight bitter smell, but that could juat be from hops???

 

[brew_ny]

it could be from the hops, I do not wash my yeast I just top crop it and it sit under a bit of beer

on brew day I do not take the yeast out until have some saved wort from my boil

so I can pour off the liquid from the cold yeast then add wort to it

I no chill so as the yeast warms up and comes alive over the 3 -4 of cooling it ready to when I hit pitching temp

for me that is 63-64 F I brews ales

did you happen taste the liquid in the jar? if it taste bad the yeast maybe bad

all the best

S_M

 

[rhys333]

I didnt taste the liquid and should have. I'm gonna play safe and retire this strain. I certainly got my moneys worth. Thanks for the input.

 

[brew_ny]

I didnt taste the liquid and should have. I'm gonna play safe and retire this strain. I certainly got my moneys worth. Thanks for the input.

always better to error on the side of caution

 

[rhys333]

Cheers to top cropping btw! 1469 is the best for that. Absolutely love this yeast.

 

[brew_ny]

Cheers to top cropping btw! 1469 is the best for that. Absolutely love this yeast.

I will have to give it a try

all the best

 

[kh54s10]

How it smells would not tell me anything. Some yeasts don't smell too bad to me, others smell bad and others smell terrible. None smell good.

 

[brew_ny]

None smell good.

none smell is indeed good

 

[rhys333]

You got me second guessing now. I was about to toss the 1469 down the sink but can't do it. Its like putting down a pet. Okay, one more batch.

 

[Sudz_Makenzie]

You got me second guessing now. I was about to toss the 1469 down the sink but can't do it. Its like putting down a pet. Okay, one more batch.

See the info on resurrecting old yeast in the "Articles" section of this site. I'm in the process of reviving some top cropped 1469 that got a little old in the fridge. I too would hate to lose that jar of yeast!

 

[jparrette]

If I ever find myself questioning my yeast, the automatic answer is to dump it.

6 hours of my time brewing and $30-$50 worth of ingredients isn't worth the risk.

 

[rhys333]

Well guys, I think I learned a valuable lesson here. My batch isn't clearing due to poor flocculation. I believe what happened is because of my pitching technique on the previous batch. I direct-pitched 2 month old yeast (i.e.: no starter) and it took longer than usual to get going. I top crop, and it forced me to collect later than at the usual 48 hour mark. Result: I selected stressed out low floc cells. I'm expecting this one will attenuate super high. Hopefully it's still drinkable, but I should have gone with the my first instinct and dumped the yeast. Oh well, at least now I know.