Think this yeast was good to go?

[Yourrealdad]

This yeast was in a mason jar for about 6 months at least (shame on me for not brewing). Figured it wasn't worth using so I dumped it, but man it at least still looked great.

Think it would have been fine to make a starter with?

 

[Bellybuster]

Bet ya it was

 

[Yourrealdad]

Bet ya it was

Yeah me too. Should have brewed up something easy and cheap to test. It looked better than a lot of the pack I buy in the store.

 

[JonM]

Looks like there might have been a thin layer of dead brown stuff on top, but the rest looks nice and healthy.

 

[Yourrealdad]

So I have read that yeast storage in a fridge usually has the yeast going bad in a few weeks, is this not the case?

 

[m00ps]

So I have read that yeast storage in a fridge usually has the yeast going bad in a few weeks, is this not the case?

Not at all. Ive made decent starters with 9 month old harvested yeast

 

[flars]

Without a protective layer of beer over the yeast, I would not have chanced it for a new brew. I have used yeast over 6 months old. The storage jar, either quart or pint, is filled to within a half inch of the top with the left over beer from the fermentor. I also store harvested yeast at 34° to 36°F.

 

[kh54s10]

So I have read that yeast storage in a fridge usually has the yeast going bad in a few weeks, is this not the case?

It is not that the yeast has gone bad. It is that the yeast has started to die off. You have less viable yeast the longer it has been stored. If you make a starter you will produce healthy active yeast cells and have the proper amount of cells for your batch size.

 

[stpug]

I've used some pretty old (rinsed) yeast that was stored with simple boil-sanitized water, and everything worked out fine. Whenever I make a starter, I evaluate the yeast strain from the starter "beer" and I try to always keep a dry sachet of yeast in my fridge just in case. I have dumped one starter because of "off-ness", and used a questionable one which proved to be a mistake. It's a small investment to make a starter from a yeast sample and easy enough to evaluate on your own.

If the yeast you dumped was one that would have worked for an upcoming beer then I would have made a starter and evaluated it prior to pitching.

 

[Yourrealdad]

Sorry, got busy and forgot about this thread.

The yeast had "beer" on top of it. I just make a .5L increase in my starter amount and then pour that into a jar.

If I was going to use that yeast again I would have made a starter for sure.

Good to hear I can use this yeast for a while longer than I thought.

Thanks again