Expire wyeast

[time01]

I have 4 wyeast, dated either Jan or feb, that were for 2 fwk kolsch and 2 fwk schwarzbier, all from Bacchus. For the kolsch beers is there any point using the wyeast? Or should I just buy fresh ones? Can they be rescued?

 

[Stubbie]

Make some small starters and see if they'll fire. Say 250ml @ 1.030 for each, and then step up.

 

[Rocker1986]

You'd be surprised how viable yeast actually stays if it's stored in the fridge. I had been doing some trypan blue stain testing on some of my cultures recently and was finding that they were dropping off a lot slower than the yeast calculators would have you believe. One sample at 3 months stored in the fridge under its starter "beer" in a mason jar recorded a viability of around 82%, contrasting the calculator's suggested 46% or thereabouts. I've had other similar results with other tests I've done too.

I'd go with the above suggestion of making some small starters, although you could probably make them 500mL... before you do though, take them out and smack them and see if they swell up; that will give you an indication as well.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I've done this with old packets of Wyeast and tubes of White labs.

Wyeast was a smack and wait a week jobbie and as I was thinking of throwing it, it was viable.

With the WL, a couple of stepped starters got her up and running.

 

[pcqypcqy]

I did a 9 month old smack pack of oktober fest lager. stepped it up in several goes, it took 3 weeks in the end, but I got it up to a proper pitch rate for a high gravity lager. I did the first two steps at mid 20's, and then the last step at 13 degrees so I could taste it and get a feel for the flavour. Tasted fine, so I pitched.

Now, whether this was WORTH doing or not money wise.... I utilised some excess wort I had, so I didn't have to buy heaps of DME. But, DME ain't cheap, so there's always a trade off.

But it' scertainly possible