Hey guys - I'm reviving some very old yeast strains - WY2633 Octoberfest Blend @ 17 months old, and WY3944 Belgian Wit @ 20 months old. I know - it sounds crazy, but I pulled a Kolsch strain back from 24 months old, grew up a good culture, and had a great batch. But I've never attempted that with a lager or Belgian strain before.
They had like a 2 day lag time, and now are fermenting pretty well in 1-L stirred starters. Of course I'll crash them and taste the wort, but this is really a first step. Now comes the crazy part - I am out of DME, but I do have some apple juice on hand. I thought about using that to grow the starter further and get some cider out of the deal too. I could just pitch these now at high krausen in the starter and treat it as a mini-batch.
So, assuming the yeast is coming back strong and true, do you see issues with growing yeast in a starter batch of cider (with nutrients), and then going back to beer with it? I kind of think that the yeast is going to chew through whatever sugars you throw at it, and as long as you have the proper nutrients in place, it should end up healthier for the deal. I just don't know how quickly a yeast strain might shift toward a different input.
Your thoughts?