Frozen Yeast

[snagler]

WOOPS , I accidently froze my yeast. With the warm weather I couldnt help haveing a fiddle with the shed fridge thermostat. It was the lager yeast trub collected from my last lager stored in a sealed glass jar (1 week old). Nothing else in the fridge froze - bottled beer, cubed lager etc
Is the yeast still viable to use? Sorry used the search function but unfortunately "frozen yeast" gave a broad response

 

[Batz]

WOOPS , I accidently froze my yeast. With the warm weather I couldnt help haveing a fiddle with the shed fridge thermostat. It was the lager yeast trub collected from my last lager stored in a sealed glass jar (1 week old). Nothing else in the fridge froze - bottled beer, cubed lager etc
Is the yeast still viable to use? Sorry used the search function but unfortunately "frozen yeast" gave a broad response

My guess is it's had it,sorry
But hey,give it a shot at a culture perhaps there are a few alive you can build up.

Batz

 

[blackbock]

WOOPS , I accidently froze my yeast. With the warm weather I couldnt help haveing a fiddle with the shed fridge thermostat. It was the lager yeast trub collected from my last lager stored in a sealed glass jar (1 week old). Nothing else in the fridge froze - bottled beer, cubed lager etc
Is the yeast still viable to use? Sorry used the search function but unfortunately "frozen yeast" gave a broad response

Palmer describes accidentally freezing his yeast on the website - successfully recovered.

Noonan actually advises people to freeze their yeast for long term storage. Presumably enough is undamaged to reuse.

 

[warrenlw63]

WOOPS , I accidently froze my yeast. With the warm weather I couldnt help haveing a fiddle with the shed fridge thermostat. It was the lager yeast trub collected from my last lager stored in a sealed glass jar (1 week old). Nothing else in the fridge froze - bottled beer, cubed lager etc
Is the yeast still viable to use? Sorry used the search function but unfortunately "frozen yeast" gave a broad response

Easiest thing to do would be to make a starter and see what transpires.

Warren -

 

[kook]

Well, tonight I realised that $90+ worth of WYeast smack packs including Pacman have been frozen along with $20 worth of US56 and nottingham. They were in the same esky as some freezer items when we moved house, so SWMBO presumed they were for the freezer.

What do you think my chances are of reviving these? I'm going to ditch the roselare (order another), but do you think theres any chance of reviving the others?

 

[razz]

The theory is, freezing is supposed to rupture the cell walls blah blah. But in reality Iv'e never frozen yeast so I suggest giving Warren's suggestion a try. It can't hurt and your yeast can't get any worse.

 

[TidalPete]

Well, tonight I realised that $110+ worth of Wyeast smack packs including Pacman have been frozen. They were in the same esky as some freezer items when we moved house, so SWMBO presumed they were for the freezer.

What do you think my chances are of reviving these? I'm going to ditch the roselare (order another), but do you think theres any chance of reviving the others?

kook,

Warren & Batz seem to be on the money here mate.
You will never know until you try. You know the procedure?
Dump the (Brought to normal temperature) yeast into a 1.040 wort with a little activator & hope for the best. You MUST be meticulous with your sterilising, etc.
I reckon that is all one can do in your circumstances although I stand to be corrected by my peers?

:beer:

 

[newguy]

Well, tonight I realised that $90+ worth of WYeast smack packs including Pacman have been frozen along with $20 worth of US56 and nottingham. They were in the same esky as some freezer items when we moved house, so SWMBO presumed they were for the freezer.

What do you think my chances are of reviving these? I'm going to ditch the roselare (order another), but do you think theres any chance of reviving the others?

Smack them, they'll swell. I have experience with frozen Wyeast smack packs and know a few other people who have frozen them as well. All the frozen packs eventually swelled and made good beer. You'll be fine.

 

[Kai]

Just to echo the advice posted already, a frozen smack pack will definitely be only partly rooted so give it a long slow careful smack period to give it time to slowly and gently wake up in a clean and sterile environment. Then a luxurious starter and you'd be in business. I'd definitely ditch any mixed cultures like Roselare.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Good luck with the liquid yeasts. I rekon you'll be OK surley there will have been a few survivor cells to culture up.

I froze a few packs of dried yeast by accident and they were fine. Basically couldn't tell the difference between how they started up and normal.

Actually, I am on my way to setting up for a bit of yeast farming etc and it was my plan to freeze small samples of the yeast in a Glycerol buffer. 12.5ml of yeast slurry and 12.5ml of glycerol in a sealed test tube, gives me 10 starters per Wyeast pack without even having to recycle.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

I'm liking this concept more and more as I increase my use of liquid yeasts.

I've only found suppliers of plastic specimen tubes who want to sell them in boxes of 100's or 1000's. Do you have a *special* supplier?

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I'm liking this concept more and more as I increase my use of liquid yeasts.

I've only found suppliers of plastic specimen tubes who want to sell them in boxes of 100's or 1000's. Do you have a *special* supplier?

Well actually I might...

I was intending to just obtain used micro-point sample tubes from work and pressure cook them into sterility. BUT, now my wife has started playing in a band with a woman who works for a laboratory supply place.... Current instructions are to "ignore the prices in the catalogue... just tell me what you want and I'll make it cheap." So I might even buy a realtively big box, take what I need, give you some and offer the rest up to AHBers as swaps or whatever.

I'm thinking 30-50 ml autoclavable tubes with caps. That way the wont be too big for freezing/sterile water storage but they would still be big enough to do a slant or a stab cultre in. I'll probably get some petri dishes as well.. and a 5litre erlenmyer... just cause it will look cool in the brewery.

TB

edit: spelling

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Well actually I might...

I was intending to just obtain used micro-point sample tubes from work and pressure cook them into sterility. BUT, now my wife has started playing in a band with a woman who works for a laboratory supply place.... Current instructions are to "ignore the prices in the catalogue... just tell me what you want and I'll make it cheap." So I might even buy a realtively big box, take what I need, give you some and offer the rest up to AHBers as swaps or whatever.

If you were interested in spreading the love a bit, things like yeast and glycerin could be purchased by other participants in such a way that cost per is small...

I'm thinking 30-50 ml autoclavable tubes with caps. That way the wont be too big for freezing/sterile water storage but they would still be big enough to do a slant or a stab cultre in. I'll probably get some petri dishes as well.. and a 5litre erlenmyer... just cause it will look cool in the brewery.

They make cool wine decanters. I got my 2litre jobbies at SSA in Mitcham - very easy to do business with.

 

[Guest Lurker]

What do you think my chances are of reviving these?

Like everyone says they should be OK. When Chris White was over he said yeast survive freezing quite well, and freezing is his preferred long term storage system. But with or without glycerine, ordinary freezer freezing isnt good for the long term, he said something about there still being some residual activity and so the yeasties damage themselves. Long term storage at Whitelabs is done at liquid nitrogen temps.

 

[matti]

What is happening SNAGLER?
Did you kill the beasties.
I have been looking for a thread of freezing yeast.
Haven't found it yet.
Just to let you in
I have frozen yeast in 80% liquid glucose.
I poured about 50 gram straight in to jar of yeast and allowed it to sit at room temp for few hours. Then I froze it for 3 months.
Unfortunately my skill to retreive the yeast without the glucose failed.
I thawed it and chucked in fresh wort into glucose solution but it was so think I had to stir it with my "sterilised" probe.
Took me a week to revive the yeast and i wasnt sure of what I achieved so I never pitched it. W34/70 went in instead LOL
Anyway let us know how you went.

 

[DJR]

Matti, i think you want a 30% glycerin solution (the 70% is cooled, boiled water), not 80% glucose. The glucose will kill the yeast from osmotic pressure.

 

[matti]

Cheers DJR.
Will read up in this as want to save some of my next liquid yeast I purchase. You live and you learn.
matti
Told to to some stufft around the house now.
tada

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

Just accidentally froze my starter at the weekend.

I searched all the posts on her about frozen yeasts and thought I should post my results for benefit of the next bloke who does it.

I thawed it out and bunged it in the brew, it took of like any brew I have made so I would recommend not to be too concerned but thaw and pitch.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I had a similar thing.

I froze (absent mindedly) a Wyeast smack pack that was about six months past manufacture date.

I smacked it after defrosting, and left it on the bench, giving it a shake whenever I saw it and remembered.

On the 4th day I was about to throw it out, as there were no signs of activity and then on the 5th, it was swollen.

Built it up in multiple steps and got a fair few vials from the end product.

Yeast are hardier than we think.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I have harvested yeast from a brew and put it in a glass jar up the back of my fridge only to have it freeze. I just pulled it out and sat it on the bench a little longer before pitching and it made a great beer.