Frozen yeast

[snaps10]

So, what would happen if say, I asked SWMBO to "put those ingredients on the counter in the freezer, please" I of course
Meant the hops I had left over. Two days later and I realize she also put in the jar of yeast that I had saved. Will this yeast be ok to reuse? I wanted to get something on in the next few days, but have no new yeast, and no lhbs.

 

[eastoak]

if it was frozen solid i'd forget about that yeast. if you have the time and inclination you could try to make a starter and see what happens, maybe some hardy cells survived and you could answer this question for others.

 

[badbrew]

Sounds like she was following directions.

 

[ProzHack]

The water will have frozen into crystals which permeabilize the cell wall of the yeast. Per previous suggestion, you can thaw (slowly at room temp) and create a starter. But if only 1-2% of the cells remain viable, it may take some time for that to grow out again, so be patient and wait on planning out that brew day.

 

[snaps10]

I thawed it very slowly (moved it to the fridge). I'll just mail order a packet of yeast and start off fresh.

 

[likwidbliss]

Use it. I froze yeast once and made good beer.

 

[Jwood]

Freezing is damaging to the cell walls (as ProzHack stated). I wouldn't even risk it, just get a new vile or smack pack, and make a starter. It wouldn't be worth it to me to worry about it or deal with having to step up a starter. You don't know how viable it is now, nor will you know how many viable yeast cells you have after you make the starter from the frozen supply.

 

[maffewl]

You could make a starter and see if it's still viable... if not... you have some yeast nutrients