500gm Pack Of Yeast

[clatty]

Hi Brewers

Just wondering if anyone buys the 500 gram bulk packs of yeast and how do you handle it as far as storage and taking some out some out for each brew.

Cheers
clatty

 

[Bribie G]

I've never bought in that quantity but I tell you what, before anyone discounts freezing as an option, I was cleaning out the freezer and have found today a couple of packs of Morgans Lager Yeast that have been in there for 15 months - I don't have a brew to use them on but I'll make a starter with one of them right now and post ASAP. Let's see how the cookie crumbles.

:icon_cheers:

 

[QldKev]

I've never bought in that quantity but I tell you what, before anyone discounts freezing as an option, I was cleaning out the freezer and have found today a couple of packs of Morgans Lager Yeast that have been in there for 15 months - I don't have a brew to use them on but I'll make a starter with one of them right now and post ASAP. Let's see how the cookie crumbles.

:icon_cheers:

Freezing is ok for yeast, it just if they are highly hydrated the water when it swells can damage the cell membrane.

QldKev

 

[clatty]

I was thinking about the convenience factor of just having a good yeast in the fridge ready to go.

Due to work and a new addition to the family I have started brewing fresh wort for convenience (hoping they are good) and yeah, I guess I was just thinking of saving a few dollars and time by buying bulk yeast. 500 grams is alot of yeast though.

I wonder how Ross stores it. He might be the man to ask.

:icon_cheers:

 

[manticle]

If you know a couple of brewers nearby you could always buy 500gm and split it.

 

[clatty]

If you know a couple of brewers nearby you could always buy 500gm and split it.

That's a mighty fine idea manticle. I'm working on getting a few mates into brewing. Unfortunately I don't know that many brewers in Orange. Surely there are some out there. I'll have to hunt them down :icon_cheers:

 

[Bribie G]

Clatty I take it you are referring to dried yeast?

If so then here's the Morgans Lager yeast after 15 months in the freezer and just rehydrated and pitched into a bottle of LDME solution after 53 minutes.
Going like the clappers



If dried, then get a box of the little baggies in the photo and as sterile as you can arrange, split them up into say 20g lots to give you a good pitching rate, pack into a Tupperware thingo and freeze.
You know what I'm going to pour it down the sink and I feel like a friggin abortionist . Oh the humanity :unsure: - go to God you little yeasties.

Every sperm is sacred

 

[mxd]

what's are they worth, I went looking for them and couldn't find any. I think it was this site or another that someone mentioned they had there yeast in the fridge (sounded like in one of those container you get your bread yeast) and used to take a tablespoon out and sprinkle it onto the wort.

 

[mxd]

whoops just find it on Ross's site

 

[Bribie G]

I said words over the little yeasties as I consigned them to their probably short life in Moreton Bay... funny how home brewing can make you so aware of the Web of Life, especially after a couple of pints of Malt Liquor :icon_cheers:

 

[dr K]

Depends how much you value your beer I guess.
Both humidity and oxygen will impact on the quality of the yeast and once a pack is open the yeast will deteriorate quickly.
A 500gm gm pack can be resealed as quickly as time permits under vaccuum (equal I guess to the original pack assuming it has not gone soft and is easily crushed) and can be used up to the expiration date on the original package if stored under appropriate conditions (4-8C).
Once the 500gm pack pack is opened it can be stored in a zip lock bag (without air) and stored in the fridge for three days or up to week in the freezer.
I am certain that 100 or more have used a crappy old pack that was badly stored and had great results, depends how much you value your beer I guess.

K

 

[clatty]

Clatty I take it you are referring to dried yeast?

If so then here's the Morgans Lager yeast after 15 months in the freezer and just rehydrated and pitched into a bottle of LDME solution after 53 minutes.
Going like the clappers

View attachment 41791

If dried, then get a box of the little baggies in the photo and as sterile as you can arrange, split them up into say 20g lots to give you a good pitching rate, pack into a Tupperware thingo and freeze.
You know what I'm going to pour it down the sink and I feel like a friggin abortionist . Oh the humanity :unsure: - go to God you little yeasties.

Every sperm is sacred

Yep the 500gram dried yeast from craftbrewer.

Sounds promising BribieG :beer:

I am sure I read somewhere on the forum that someone uses the bulk yeast and stores it in the freezer. Have a feeling it was Screwtop? not sure though...

Cheers

 

[RdeVjun]

:icon_offtopic:
You're not alone BribieG, in situations like that where I'm discarding harmonious communities of billions of yeast down the gurgler, I pray that Flying Spaghetti Monster intercedes and uses them all for the beer volcano. Yep, apparently there's one of those and strippers too I hear- I can't wait, if that's modern religion, then I'm a devout pastafarian for sure. I guess this would be appropriate: :icon_chickcheers:

 

[clatty]

Depends how much you value your beer I guess.
Both humidity and oxygen will impact on the quality of the yeast and once a pack is open the yeast will deteriorate quickly.
A 500gm gm pack can be resealed as quickly as time permits under vaccuum (equal I guess to the original pack assuming it has not gone soft and is easily crushed) and can be used up to the expiration date on the original package if stored under appropriate conditions (4-8C).
Once the 500gm pack pack is opened it can be stored in a zip lock bag (without air) and stored in the fridge for three days or up to week in the freezer.
I am certain that 100 or more have used a crappy old pack that was badly stored and had great results, depends how much you value your beer I guess.

K

Yes, some very good points Dr. I do value my beer very much :icon_cheers: . Just trying to find a compromise between making brewing as efficient as possible without compromising too much on quality.

 

[Bribie G]

snip
Once the 500gm pack pack is opened it can be stored in a zip lock bag (without air) and stored in the fridge for three days or up to week in the freezer.
snip

K

My 15 month in freezer yeast obviously hadn't been made aware of this. Naughty naughty yeast spanky spanky. Actually I once accidentally froze a Wyeast for 2 months and it popped up just fine.

 

[dr K]

My 15 month in freezer yeast obviously hadn't been made aware of this. Naughty naughty yeast spanky spanky. Actually I once accidentally froze a Wyeast for 2 months and it popped up just fine.

yawn...snip...forget rider..yawn
I can buy 500gm vacpacks of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for less than $10, goes like the clappers even when I leave unsealed and outside the fridge for months and I do care about my bread, I just don't care if the Saccharomyces cerevisiae has mutated or lost some of its viability, and at the price I might just spend 10 cents and double the "pitch", I am, after all only leavening not fermenting through the whole path so I do not give a frogs if the overall profile has varied.

Back to the OP, is it worth it, a quick look at the craftbrewer site shows me US05 is $98 per 500g, split that to 40 packs (unless you want to go under the manufacturers spec for unopened yeast) thats what $2.45, you need to buy vac seal bags ($?) and a vac-packer if you don't have one. The same site sells you resealed vac-packed sachets for $4.25. Efficiency is entirely subjective but even a simplistic model ignoring the risk factor gives a clear result.

K

 

[roo_dr]

I've been using a 500g US-05 that I acquired almost 2 years ago. Divided it up into individual brew amounts with a vacuum sealer and it's still going good.

That said, i did end up passing on about 200g when I realized how long it would take to use it all, given that I generally reuse the yeast cake a couple of times, and have now started using Cooper's yeast too.

I was advised to up the pitching amount as age crept in though.

 

[rendo]

LOVE YOUR EXPERIMENTS BRIBIEG....why am I shouting?

maybe those yeasties might brew some sh!t up in your drains and clean em up???

Clatty I take it you are referring to dried yeast?

If so then here's the Morgans Lager yeast after 15 months in the freezer and just rehydrated and pitched into a bottle of LDME solution after 53 minutes.
Going like the clappers

View attachment 41791

If dried, then get a box of the little baggies in the photo and as sterile as you can arrange, split them up into say 20g lots to give you a good pitching rate, pack into a Tupperware thingo and freeze.
You know what I'm going to pour it down the sink and I feel like a friggin abortionist . Oh the humanity :unsure: - go to God you little yeasties.

Every sperm is sacred

 

[DanRayner]

I did this once. I bought a 500g pack of US-05 and I was quite concerned about sterility and viability but I didn't have any problems - it was sitting in the kitchen fridge, taped shut with gaffer tape and it took several months to use it all. Since then I have opted for buyed the equivalent sized pack predivided into 11g sachets for about the same price - only difference is you get 38 sachets which equates to 418g which works out being 20% more expensive. Still much cheaper than buying individual sachets.

 

[Bribie G]

drK
not knocking your logic, personally I wouldn't buy 500g and I never continue past gen III for dry or liquid yeasts, just trying to help the OP. :icon_cheers: