I went on a tour of the Lancaster brewery and the guide mentioned that they just keep their yeast refrigerated and reuse it, and have been for many years (can't remember how long he actually said) and he said that Sam Smiths yeast is over 200 years old. So how come you can only use yeast for around 5-6 batches in home brew? I must be missing something here and I apologise if it's a silly question.
How long does yeast really last?
- Thread starter AdamSon
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I keep three strains going, normally in a sort of rotation. The oldest one, from WLP002, is about a year old and has been re-used about 10 times and is improving each time. One is a local brewery yeast that the head brewer has told me they have been using continuously since the 1970's and they got it from another brewery that has been around over 200 years. Maintaining a yeast strain means the yeast will adapt to your conditions and the result is an improvement in the quality of your beer.
YEAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT WE USE.
Good yeast management is easy and will reward you. Why use inferior packet yeast and settle for ordinary.
YEAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT WE USE.
Good yeast management is easy and will reward you. Why use inferior packet yeast and settle for ordinary.
simon12
Landlord.
If you harvest yeast from the top during the peak of fermentation then I think you can use it indefinitely, but any yeast stored in a fridge will loose viability over time. The 5-6 batches I think applies to using the yeast left in the bottom after fermentation which is not in the best condition.
This is my understanding anyway.
This is my understanding anyway.
My own experience of top cropping has been mixed. This is when the yeast is at it's peak and I have found if I pitch within a few days it works well. This is what the commercial brewers do but they brew more frequently than me. When stored a week or more it has gone down hill but as I say that is my own experience.
I just fill a 500ml plastic bottle about 3/4 full with fermenting wort 2 days into fermentation. Plug the bottle with cotton wool an leave in the fermenting fridge until the main wort has fermented. When fermented the bottle is sealed and stored in the fridge. You need to make a starter and I start with 20ml, after pouring off spent wort, then step up to 2lt. The longest I have kept before re-using is 3 months. I have been using various methods to propagate yeast over the last 40 years as I hate dried yeast with vengeance and have found this the most successful. Not only have I not bought any yeast for over a year, and I brew at least every other week, but the yeast is getting better as it adapts to my conditions. I have a few regular ones I brew and last few of those have been some of my best ever. If you want to improve you beers improve your yeast.
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