General Category > Yeast and Fermentation

OLD liquid yeasts!?

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dean:
I've ordered liquid yeasts a few times and it really pisses me off when it arrives and its 3 months old according to the manufacturing date!  Anybody else run into that?  I just ordered WY1272 and if it comes more than a month and a half old I'm calling the store and complaining, they charge enough for it that they ought to keep better track of it... first in - first out method isn't all that difficult and yeast viability is a huge issue when making starters!   >:(

denny:
IME, viability isn't as big a deal if you're making starters.  I've successfully used 3 1/2 year old smackpacks, although it's nothing I recommend!  Fresher is always better, but 3 months old isn't a terrible problem.  Although, if you're ordering from a place that has a decent turnover, it is a bit baffling why they have packs that are 3 months old.

a10t2:
Three months is still ~40% viability, kind of a drag but not hard to deal with. It's a bigger deal as a customer service issue than a brewing issue.

karlh:
I always make a starter with smack packs.  That said I found a smack pack under the vegetable drawer in the fridge a couple years ago that was 6 years past its mfg. date.  I thought I would smack it and see if there was any activity, and after a week it had inflated itself.  I made a starter and brewed the beer I usually make with this yeast, and it was virtually identical. 

I routinely make starters from smack packs that have been in the fridge for 6 months or more as I buy all the ingredients and the best laid plans go astray.... 

In ten years I have only had one bad experience with a wyeast pack that inflated fast and popped, breaking the seal at the top of the foil bag.  It produced an obviously infected beer with multiple weird flavor characteristics. 

bluesman:
I've never had that problem, but if I did I'd contact the seller and ask for a replacement and/or a refund.  ;)

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