Frozen Yeast

[mgmick]

The fridge I keep my dry yeast sachets in has gone faulty and taken to freezing the contents. Has this killed off my yeast?

 

[Clarence]

Why not try making a starter with one of them?

 

[Agentgonzo]

The fridge I keep my dry yeast sachets in has gone faulty and taken to freezing the contents. Has this killed off my yeast?

I don't think so. Freezing liquid yeast will kill it because the water in the cells turns to ice, expands and ruptures the cells.

Dried yeast doesn't have any water in it, so doesn't kill the yeast. Though I'm only about 90% certain of this.

I'm sure you'll get a more definitive answer soon though

 

[mgmick]

Why not try making a starter with one of them?

I'm not planning a brew in the immediate future. If I made a starter how long and in what environment would it keep for?

 

[Alan_Reginato]

I Googled it. There's a lot of entries encouraging it, to extend the shelf life. Including some answers from the producer's technical support. They just advise to not pitch it direct from the freezer. So yours yeast should be ok.

 

[Tanglefoot]

I keep my yeast in fridge with no problems, though I take it out well before I need it so never pitch it frozen

 

[mgmick]

I Googled it. There's a lot of entries encouraging it, to extend the shelf life. Including some answers from the producer's technical support. They just advise to not pitch it direct from the freezer. So yours yeast should be ok.

Duh!!! Didn't think to Google it. I have now though and it seems it will be fine.
Thanks for the advice.