starter for expired yeast without stir plate?

[pwnshop]

Hey guys,

I got a couple vials of old yeast (best before sept 2015) that i thought i might try to revive. WLP566 and WLP545.

I dont have a stir plate and i was wondering if its possible to revive yeast this old without one?

I would do a small 1L starter first and swirl it as often as i can and then i would bump up to 2L then probably again to 3L (with swirling).

I mostly want to revive the yeast just for the experience of doing it. If it works I will brew with it, if not oh well I dont really care.

I just want to know if its doomed from the beginning since i dont have a stir plate. in which case i wont even bother.

thanks

 

[Homercidal]

Hey guys,

I got a couple vials of old yeast (best before sept 2015) that i thought i might try to revive. WLP566 and WLP545.

I dont have a stir plate and i was wondering if its possible to revive yeast this old without one?

I would do a small 1L starter first and swirl it as often as i can and then i would bump up to 2L then probably again to 3L (with swirling).

I mostly want to revive the yeast just for the experience of doing it. If it works I will brew with it, if not oh well I dont really care.

I just want to know if its doomed from the beginning since i dont have a stir plate. in which case i wont even bother.

thanks

A stirplate can significantly increase the growth potential of any starter, but it's certainly not a requirement at all. Many people build a starter by using a quart jar and shaking it up once in a while. You may want to consult one of the many sites that try to calculate your expected viable cell count for each method.

If you are a little handy you might check out some of the stirplate builds and consider making one. It's a fun little project that doesn't require much cost.

 

[JonM]

You'll be fine. I've revived older yeast than that and Revvy had a story about reviving something like 1-year-plus old yeast. If it's been stored properly, a starter should take off no problem.

Of course, there is the possibility that someone left that yeast in a hot car or something else awful. If this yeast doesn't take off in a starter, don't let it scare you away from using old yeast in the future.

 

[pwnshop]

it was at my LHBS in a "free yeast" bin. i guess they give away yeast after it expires. As far as i know it was in their yeast fridge until i bought it and it has been in my fridge ever since.

I know its possible to revive old yeast I just wanted to know specifically if it requires a stir plate to do so or if the shake/swirl method will be adequate for bringing it back to life.

I do plan to build a stir plate and actually i have all the parts already except a stir bar. My LHBS is really far away and a pain in the butt to get to for just a $5 stir bar, and the ones on amazon.ca won't ship to me until feb 11 apparently. A new LHBS is opening up close to me within the next month so I'm just going to wait until then.

 

[JonM]

No stir plate needed. The shake and swirl method will do just fine.

 

[HBngNOK]

No stir plate needed. The shake and swirl method will do just fine.

Agree! Stir plates are bright and shiny, like stainless steel.

 

[Strucker]

I made my stir plate using an old 12v transformer, 12v PC fan and a volume control from an old radio or baby monitor.