Yeast viability

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Paddington
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Yeast viability

Post by Paddington » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:17 pm

I recently bought a WLP540 which was produced on 15 Oct and states it is best by 13 April. However, when I put it into a calculator (I’ve tried a few) I get the result that there are 0 viable cells. Can anyone advise me on what size starter I should use. I’m intending to make a 10 litre brew with a starting gravity of 1.074.

Thanks.

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alexlark
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by alexlark » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:09 pm

I'd get it in a 1L starter and see if you get activity. Should be plenty for that batch size.

Paddington
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by Paddington » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:20 pm

Thanks. It’s frustrating that it’s clearly got some viability, albeit reduced, but the calculators say it hasn’t.

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Meatymc
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by Meatymc » Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:21 pm

Had exactly the same calculator 'result' with a WLP029 but it had no problem coping with a 20L brew from a 1.5L starter

ben034
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by ben034 » Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:05 pm

Not sure which calculator you're using but the Brew United calculator estimates 30B cells (assuming original count of 100B on 15/10/17). A 1.5l starter should be enough for the 1.074 OG although the calculator reccomends a multi step starter.

http://www.brewunited.com/yeast_calculator.php

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Re: Yeast viability

Post by ben034 » Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:07 pm

Just saw you're only making a10l batch so 1litre should be enough

Paddington
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by Paddington » Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:54 am

Thanks for the advice.

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IPA
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by IPA » Tue Mar 20, 2018 9:36 am

Having successfully recovered yeast from bottles of beer that were between 35-40 years old and gone on to ferment beer with them my advice would be to ignore these "calculators". If not buy a decent microscope and have a look at the yeast. The latest yeast that I have recovered was from a bottle of Silver Jubilee Ale brewed by Shepherd Neame for the Queens silver jubilee in 1977 and am now drinking an excellent clone of Spitfire fermented with it. For the record I keep samples of all my yeast and reuse them time and time again. I am also at the moment drinking a beer fermented with WLP 037 that was purchased in 2013 and has been used countless times. If you search there is a thread on here how to do it.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

1. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip

It's better to lose time with friends than to lose friends with time (Portuguese proverb)

Alone we travel faster
Together we travel further
( In an admonishing email from our golf club)

Paddington
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by Paddington » Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:38 pm

IPA, good to get your ear as there are a couple of other questions. First, to my shame, I found a tiny speck floating in my starter. I have no idea what it was or how it got there. It looks like a small fragment of a herb or tea leaf. I poured out some of the starter to get rid of it. I’m obviously concerned that I might have contaminated my starter. I know you are a great believer in tasting wort from starters, if I do this and it isn’t sour, can I be fairly confident it’s ok? Second, if it is ok, will I be able to harvest yeast using your method or will it be too stressed from the high og to be healthy?

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IPA
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by IPA » Tue Mar 20, 2018 5:27 pm

If it tastes ok when it is ready to pitch there's a good chance that it is fine. Secondly I have saved yeast my way from worts that have a starting gravity of above 1100.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

1. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip

It's better to lose time with friends than to lose friends with time (Portuguese proverb)

Alone we travel faster
Together we travel further
( In an admonishing email from our golf club)

Paddington
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by Paddington » Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:47 pm

Thanks, IPA that's two reassuring answers.

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Re: Yeast viability

Post by Paddington » Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:48 pm

By the way, I had a fantastic holiday in Gascony many years ago.

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IPA
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Re: Yeast viability

Post by IPA » Wed Mar 21, 2018 8:22 am

Paddington wrote:
Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:48 pm
By the way, I had a fantastic holiday in Gascony many years ago.
It's a great place to live.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

1. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip

It's better to lose time with friends than to lose friends with time (Portuguese proverb)

Alone we travel faster
Together we travel further
( In an admonishing email from our golf club)

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