storing commercial yeast

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monty1
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storing commercial yeast

Post by monty1 »

If I wanted to store an open packet of commercial yeast (something like safale s-04), what is the best way to that? Airtight container in a cupboard? Seal up the pack and refrigerate? Freezing? - Or does freezing damage yeast?
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Jeltz69
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Re: storing commercial yeast

Post by Jeltz69 »

In truth I don't know the answer to your question.

However I think the principle should be only open when you intend using it otherwise the chance of infection is increased.

If its that you want to use part and keep part I would pitch the whole amount then re-use the yeast by harvesting either from the krausen while fermenting or from trub after fermentation. There are plenty of youtube clips explaining this.
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Taz Ales
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Re: storing commercial yeast

Post by Taz Ales »

I second that. It's not worth keeping an opened sachet of yeast. Unless you're making very small quantities of beer at a time you should generally pitch the whole sachet.

As for storing unopened sachets and vials... keep them in the fridge. They all have an expiry date on the package.

Technically you can freeze dried yeast, but it's not recommended. Freezing wet yeast will rupture the cell walls and destroy them, so definitely a no on that.

If you're looking to put together a library of different yeasts, you'll need to read up on making yeast slants. This is essentially storing cultures on agar.
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Jeltz69
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Re: storing commercial yeast

Post by Jeltz69 »

Taz Ales wrote:<snip>
Freezing wet yeast will rupture the cell walls and destroy them, so definitely a no on that.
<snip>
A 25% solution of glycerine acts as a cryoprotectant if you want to freeze wet yeast, apparently.

Not tried myself but its on the todo list.
monty1
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Re: storing commercial yeast

Post by monty1 »

Unless you're making very small quantities of beer at a time you should generally pitch the whole sachet.
That's exactly the reason, my intention was to make smaller 10 litre batches (so i'm continuously brewing but not overrun with beer) and use half a sachet i would usually use for a 20 litre brew, I wont always be making two small batches at a time due to fermenter space and it'd be handy to be able to save the yeast, probably for a maximum of two weeks.

Looks like it's just not worth risking the chance of a ruined batch by using an already open yeast sachet though, no big deal as they are pretty cheap but it would have been convenient.
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I_used_to_brew
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Re: storing commercial yeast

Post by I_used_to_brew »

Pitch the whole packet. And re-pitch some of the slurry that's left into the next brew (find out how much using http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html ). You could bottle the required amount and store it in the 'fridge for several weeks.

Some dried yeasts are a bit better behaved when re-pitched. You could happily do this 3 times or so before running into issues.
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vacant
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Re: storing commercial yeast

Post by vacant »

monty1 wrote:my intention was to make smaller 10 litre batches (so i'm continuously brewing but not overrun with beer) and use half a .
Another option is to store the wort in a cube then ferment two brews using your single packet. That would save on cooling as well.

From No Chill Method

"Storability (Extended Storage)

"Cubes that have been properly packed may be stored for extended periods. Some users have reported good results with cubes being stored for over a year. Personally I have stored cubes for 1 to 2 months without issue.
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monty1
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Re: storing commercial yeast

Post by monty1 »

Two interesting suggestions there, harvesting slurry won't always be an option as sometimes the fermenter that gets freed up will be the second fermenter rather than primary and I don't think there'll be anything to harvest.

i'll check out the chill method and the cube.

Cheers.
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