# Wyeast 1968 Esb Storability



## SJW (12/3/09)

Has anyone noticed how this yeast performs after storing the slurry for a time and then trying to fire it up again. This is how I store all my Wyeast now, I just do a nice clean first brew and then transfer the yeast slurry to 6 or 7 stubbies. This has worked very well with lots of yeast but for some reason the 1968 wont fire at up at all. I have even had some stored like this for 12 months and its fired up straight away. The only thing I did notice is that the stubbies were under a lot of co2 pressure when I cracked em but that should not effect the viability.


Steve


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## warrenlw63 (12/3/09)

:icon_offtopic: Sort of a small world Steve. I've got some one week old 1098 slurry I just pitched and there's still no action after 24 hours.  Getting a bit worried.

I'm beginning to see yeast storage as a bit of a hit and miss affair. Can't vouch for 1968 in that regard but I wouldn't doubt it.

Warren -


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## drsmurto (12/3/09)

SJW said:


> Has anyone noticed how this yeast performs after storing the slurry for a time and then trying to fire it up again. This is how I store all my Wyeast now, I just do a nice clean first brew and then transfer the yeast slurry to 6 or 7 stubbies. This has worked very well with lots of yeast but for some reason the 1968 wont fire at up at all. I have even had some stored like this for 12 months and its fired up straight away. The only thing I did notice is that the stubbies were under a lot of co2 pressure when I cracked em but that should not effect the viability.
> 
> 
> Steve



You dont make a starter?

If i am re-pitching yeast cake i use it within a few days. After that it goes into a starter.

1 yeast cake into 6-7 stubbies sounds like you are right on the lower limits for re-pitching. Leaving it in the fridge for months and then expecting it to fire up straight away seems a tad optimistic to me (unless you are making a starter and then i take it all back  )

EDIT - spelling


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## reviled (12/3/09)

Yeah a starter is pretty much a must if its been sitting around..


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## SJW (12/3/09)

> You dont make a starter?
> 
> If i am re-pitching yeast cake i use it within a few days. After that it goes into a starter.
> 
> ...



Sorry mate, I do make a starter and what I should of said is the starter wont fire. Normally I would only get about 4 or 5 stubbies out of a slurry, thats about half a stubbie of compact fresh yeast.

Steve


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## reviled (12/3/09)

SJW said:


> Sorry mate, I do make a starter and what I should of said is the starter wont fire. Normally I would only get about 4 or 5 stubbies out of a slurry, thats about half a stubbie of compact fresh yeast.
> 
> Steve



24 hours may not be long enough, I had some yeast take 3 days to kick off once, still fermented out fine tho and made a good beer..


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## drsmurto (12/3/09)

Ok, starter wont fire. That makes sense, dunno why i assumed you were pitching the slurry.

How long has the yeast been in the fridge?

24 hours doesnt surprise me really. I still tend to leave a starter a minimum of 3 days prior to brewday so that it has time to fire up and get active.


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## atkinsonr (12/3/09)

I once had an ESB that took three full days produce Krausen with a smackpack of 1275 which is also an English Ale.

In short, OG was 1057 and I should have used about twice as much yeast as a 'typical', say 1047, brew.

Despite under pitching I resisted the temptation to fiddle with it (add more yeast etc).

In the end I ended up with a very fine ESB that pours magnificently and has a wonderful balance.

Since you made a starter, if the starter worked then the yeast is viable - so possibly your situation is related to mine and you underpitched? 

If so then it might take three days...

EDIT: Oh, I just saw the "starter won't fire" part... I assumed you had pitched too.


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## SJW (12/3/09)

I should add that I waited 24 hours after pitching the UN-ACTIVE starter and even then (after 24 hours) there was not even the tell tale whisppy foamy bits on top so I just pitch a dry Windsor yeast. Its going like a bomb now. So just to check on the other bottle of 1968 in the fridge I made up another starter and dumped in the stubbie of slurry and still no action after 24 hours. Maybe its just this yeast strain or maybe as its an Ale yeast it did not like being stored at 1 deg C or so, unlike all my Lager yeasts? I dont know.


Steve


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## SJW (12/3/09)

_Carbon dioxide can build up quickly in yeast slurry, and if kept under pressure will cross the cell walls and kill yeast cells. Pressures over 35 psi can be toxic to yeast, and soda kegs are rated over 100 psi. So if you use these kegs, shake and vent pressure regularly, at least once per day. _

This is what has happend I fear.
Taken from this http://www.probrewer.com/resources/library...ealthyyeast.php Very interesting


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## yardy (14/3/09)

my knowledge and experience with liquid yeast is limited to say the least having only used it 3 times, my plan, *(especially after reading this thread as i have a nice 1968 yeast cake sitting in the brewfridge)* if using liquid, is to make a smallish beer at 1038ish, pitch with no starter and then progress through the relevant styles for that strain, throwing the wort straight onto the yeast cake, brewing the lighter styles first through to the darker beers, not exactly a new concept as JZ has mentioned a few times this is what he has done in the past.
if i could get 3 to 4 brews down from one purchase i would see that as pretty cost effective.

anyone else brew this way when using liquids ?

cheers
Yard


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## warra48 (14/3/09)

yardy said:


> my knowledge and experience with liquid yeast is limited to say the least having only used it 3 times, my plan, *(especially after reading this thread as i have a nice 1968 yeast cake sitting in the brewfridge)* if using liquid, is to make a smallish beer at 1038ish, pitch with no starter and then progress through the relevant styles for that strain, throwing the wort straight onto the yeast cake, brewing the lighter styles first through to the darker beers, not exactly a new concept as JZ has mentioned a few times this is what he has done in the past.
> if i could get 3 to 4 brews down from one purchase i would see that as pretty cost effective.
> 
> anyone else brew this way when using liquids ?
> ...



I do that with WY3068. 
Start with a hefeweizen, then a dunkelweizen, then a dunkelweizenbock.

Alternatively, harvesting is not that difficult, and certainly helps to spread the cost.


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## Sammus (14/3/09)

SJW said:


> ...thats about half a stubbie of compact fresh yeast.



Are you sure it's all fresh yeast? I used to drop my whole yeast cake into a 2L bottle and be lucky to get a cm of compact yeast slurry in there. Most of the bottle would be some kind of slurry/sludge, but there was only a thin really white layer which I believe is mostly yeast, and that's mainly probably dead cells anyway.


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