Using 6+ month old BugFarm & BugCounty

[KindofBlues71]

I have vials of ECY01 from 9/2013 and ECY20 from 10/2013 in my fridge that I want to use before they get too much older.

Are there any concerns with pitching each vial into separate 5gal extract batches? How much viability has diminished from storing them so long?

Thanks!
KindofBlues71

 

[lawbadger]

I actually have ECY20 left from 10/2013 as well and was wondering this too. I'm guessing the sacc may be worse for wear but everything else is fine.

 

[Chub]

I just pitched ~100 mL of ECY20 from 11/2013 into 5g of 1.078 wort. It took about 30 hrs to get a krausen, but bubbled hard for 36 hours after. I guess I'll find out in about 12 months if it was still viable enough.

 

[MileHighBrewer]

I used a year old ecy01 and it took off before my fresh ecy20 did. Smells and tastes better right now but they're both very young, maybe 2-3 months

 

[Coff]

If youre concerned just make a starter for each using only half the vial, that should wake up some of the sacch enough to get going. Then pitch the starter and the remaining half vial into your wort.

If it were me though I would just pitch the damn thing without the starter. Al packages with high cell counts and if youre brewing a Lambic type wort you dont really have to worry hug sacch counts.

 

[KindofBlues71]

Thanks guys, sounds like the yeast is fine. I'm just going to pitch them as-is and hope for the best.

Sent from my KFSOWI using Home Brew mobile app

 

[TrickyDick]

I pitched ECY01 yesterday. Package is 2 months and 10 days old. no activity at about 20 hours. 1.046 wort. Guess I shouldn't sweat it based on what folks are mentioning. I hope it gets going soon, because I need to move it out of fermenter for next brewday. Its only going to have a 6 day lease in the fermenter, then I'm racking it into secondaries with fruit. Hope that's enough time.
TD

 

[milldoggy]

Just add some us05 if nothing after 48 hrs. You will still have all the good bacteria and Brett from the ecy

 

[TrickyDick]

Thanks for the tip. Will do. how vigorous of a Krausen does this ECY01 produce? I have my conical jam packed full (13 gallons wort in a 14.4(?) conical). I put the blow off tubing on it as a precaution connected to a 5L flask with just enough water to cover the tubing end. I hope that it doesn't overfill. Used some ferm-cap as well.

TD

 

[lawbadger]

Sorry for the old thread revival, but I thought I'd update my post. I brewed a 15gal batch of 1.046 lambic this weekend and pitched two vials of ECY20 Bug Country from 10/2013 along with a jar of various dregs from sours I've been drinking lately. Fermentation took off within 2-3 days and has been chugging along since. The added mix did contain some saison and farmhouse ale dregs just as a precaution though.

 

[Coff]

I always under pitch my sours (Lambics), which is pretty traditional really. I wouldnt worry about ECY vials that are a year old in this style of beer, you want to stress the sacch a little for some increased esters that the Brett will break down over time anyway.

Plus, those vials have some huge cell counts.

Glad to hear it worked out for you.

 

[m00se]

What's your thought on pitching a 12mo old cake of roselaere that saw various dregs along the way? Sach cells have to be almost nonexistent right? Let Brett and bacteria ferment the wort down? I should probably see what happens with pitching or toss in some ale yeast as insurance?

 

[Coff]

I dont see why not really, cell counts as a whole are probably pretty low, and the health of the remaining cells probably are not great. If it were me I would at least grab a vial of some Belgian yeast and add that as well so you have some relatively healthy Sacch to get the party going.

Bu I would not pitch onto the cake, pour a bunch into a sanitized mason jar and get your next beer into a clean fermenter and toss the slurry in. Im a nit when it comes to pitching on top of cakes though.

 

[smokinghole]

Ive been pitching off a jar of lambic yeasts that are over 3 years old from bottles I drank and been storing in the fridge. It takes off like crazy by day two.

Use some but not all of a cake. I bet there is some sacch in there that will ferment no problem. Yeast are pretty resilient organisms.

 

[m00se]

@smokinghole was it you that was saying you've pitched something like 10ml of BugFarm slurry to stress the yeasts creating more funk? I was planning to shoot for 100ml slurry when I pitch down the road.

 

[smokinghole]

The last sour I brewed I pitched ~30ml of pretty thin slurry into 13 gal of 1.037 wort. Tastes great and nicely sour.