Out of date yeast!!?

Get advice on making beer from raw ingredients (malt, hops, water and yeast)
Post Reply
patwestlake
Steady Drinker
Posts: 73
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2015 1:23 pm
Location: Penarth, South Wales

Out of date yeast!!?

Post by patwestlake » Sat Oct 13, 2018 10:50 pm

Brew day tomorrow - Seymour's Rakau Pale (or a version thereof!). Planning to use Danstar Windsor from dry, rehydrated, but then noticed the BBE date of 2017.... Panic or go ahead anyway. Alternatives are CML US West Coast or Nottingham (not even considering my Belgians....!)
Pat
FV : #99 Highway to Helles (Munich Helles)
Next up - #100 Farmhouse in Your Soul (Saison)

Drinking :
#98 Bells Light Hearted (3.9% IPA)
#97 Decadence 64 (Mosaic IPA)
#96 Wicked Weasel (Fursty Ferret Clone)
#95 Penarth Gold (Loweswater Gold Clone)
#94 Cheeseburger Cavalry (US IPA)

User avatar
Eric
Even further under the Table
Posts: 2873
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:18 am
Location: Sunderland.

Re: Out of date yeast!!?

Post by Eric » Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:26 pm

Rehydrate the Windsor as soon as you've mashed in. Take a small amount of early runnings and dilute down to about 1020 with sparge liquor with a little nutrient if you have some. Boil vigorously in a pan on the hob for 20 minutes, then chill and add to the yeast. By the time you want to pitch, the Windsor should be in full swing.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.

j444fog
Steady Drinker
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2015 4:44 pm

Re: Out of date yeast!!?

Post by j444fog » Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:52 pm

I revived some 8 year old Nottingham a couple of weeks back. It took off like a rocket after being brought back to life in a good starter solution.

Kingfisher4
Hollow Legs
Posts: 387
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2017 11:03 pm
Location: Derbyshire, UK

Re: Out of date yeast!!?

Post by Kingfisher4 » Wed Oct 17, 2018 3:36 pm

Eric wrote:
Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:26 pm
Rehydrate the Windsor as soon as you've mashed in. Take a small amount of early runnings and dilute down to about 1020 with sparge liquor with a little nutrient if you have some. Boil vigorously in a pan on the hob for 20 minutes, then chill and add to the yeast. By the time you want to pitch, the Windsor should be in full swing.
Please except my ignorance again, Eric, but what is the rationale behind boiling the solution for so long?
I would have thought that most pathogens, wild bacteria/yeasts/spores or other contaminants would only manage to survive for seconds, perhaps minutes at most in boiling water/fluid?

mosquat
Piss Artist
Posts: 227
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:30 pm

Re: Out of date yeast!!?

Post by mosquat » Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:00 pm

I used past best San Diego super yeast - made a starter but my fermentation still got stuck and i re-pitched some dry yeast to finish off.

Beer is fine but i created a perfect storm of a fairly high gravity beer and yeast that had seen better days which resulted in my first stuck brew...






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

User avatar
Eric
Even further under the Table
Posts: 2873
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:18 am
Location: Sunderland.

Re: Out of date yeast!!?

Post by Eric » Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:38 pm

Kingfisher4 wrote:
Wed Oct 17, 2018 3:36 pm
Eric wrote:
Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:26 pm
Rehydrate the Windsor as soon as you've mashed in. Take a small amount of early runnings and dilute down to about 1020 with sparge liquor with a little nutrient if you have some. Boil vigorously in a pan on the hob for 20 minutes, then chill and add to the yeast. By the time you want to pitch, the Windsor should be in full swing.
Please except my ignorance again, Eric, but what is the rationale behind boiling the solution for so long?
I would have thought that most pathogens, wild bacteria/yeasts/spores or other contaminants would only manage to survive for seconds, perhaps minutes at most in boiling water/fluid?
You might be correct, but I'm not so convinced and would not do such myself nor advise others. If the brew being produced was to have a short life and all equipment thoroughly sanitised afterwards then maybe there should be little of concern. However, if, for example, the yeast was to be salvaged, stored and re-used (or passed on to another brewer) it might not be wise to assume nothing unwanted wouldnt survive.

Somewhere in the annals of papers to the Institute of Brewing is one informing that beer made including unmalted oats in the mash and boiled for 90 minutes had short shelf life unless hops were included in the boil. Uninterrupted use of live yeast for a few years has concentrated the mind at times and the yeast was not salvaged from the last brew as a few shortcuts were taken being a bit of a throw-away brew and a trial for a more controlled version in the future. Yeast don't thrive without good care.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.

Post Reply