How long is yeast slurry good for under water?

[zarniwoop]

Hi All,

It's about time I started to cut my costs down and I'm going to start rinsing and reusing my yeast. I gave this a shot 12 months ago but couldn't get the sample to fire up. It was probably my fault as I pitched it into a 1L started and didn't give it enough time. I plan to rinse and then store under "steralised" water (i.e. boiled) in the fridge as per the guide in the yeast forum. My only concern is that after reading through the "Yeast" book by White and Zainasheff they seem to suggest that 2 weeks is the maximum time you can store like this, on the other hand there are numerous comments on AHB about much longer storage times. So the questions are how long do you/have you stored yeast using this method and been successful rousing it and what's your procedure for bringing it back?


Cheers

Zarniwoop

(I'm guessing that the yeast book is talking about the correct method for micros etc and what we're doing on here works ok for homebrewing where we're not too stressed about some viability loss etc)

 

[Yob]

from 2 weeks to 4 months...

the longer you keep it the more you need to make a starter for it (and possibly rinse again)

Freezing is the way to go mate.. I rinsed and stored jars of yeast for ages but shy away from it now, not due to any issues really, just prefer to freeze as it's a better process and takes much less space.

Dont forget, that for true sanitized water, you need to autoclave it or boil it 3 times over 3-4 days.

:icon_cheers:

 

[jaypes]

Dont forget, that for true sanitized water, you need to autoclave it or boil it 3 times over 3-4 days.

:icon_cheers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyndallization

What medium do you freeze in Yob?

 

[zarniwoop]

Any links to a freezing guide?

 

[Yob]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyndallization

What medium do you freeze in Yob?

Glycerine, can get it at coles pretty cheaply

Any links to a freezing guide?

Have a look through THIS thread.. there are others if you have a search

In fact, Ive simplified my process since that post, I now just tip off the starter wort and leave a pretty thick slurry and pour directly into the tube, then top up with the Glycerine and into the fridge for a day and then into the freezer.

a %50 Glycerine solution means that it doesnt freeze at all but I recently fired up a %15 tube (one of my first ones) after 4 months of being frozen solid... in fact, my swap beer is made with it :lol: