storing yeast in fridge

They are new packs? Harvested in mason jar for reuse? How are you storing?

FWIW, I've heard interview with Yakobson I believe where he recommended not storing Brett cold like that. I'll have to revisit my resources but if you brew with Brett once a month you should be able to keep the culture at room temps and just feed it some pasteurized malt extract every other week.

For my sacch strain, I've been able to save in a mason jar in the fridge. I'll have a 1.9 L starter and on brew day will sterilize a mason jar in boiling water, let it cool to room temp, and pour off 360 ml of starter into the mason jar for storing in fridge. This typically yields about 1/2'' slurry at the bottom of a 12oz mason jar. About 3 weeks later I'll build up another 1.9 L starter from the saved yeast and repeat. So far I've gotten to 4 generations with no noticeable change in character. The strain I use isn't a top cropper or else I'd just crop my sachh strain.

 

I store my yeast (sacch) in mason jars that are topped off with sterile water (no air gap at top). Not sure this helps, but can not hurt. Ideally you want 33 - 36° but I use home fridge at ~40. Yeast says to leave the lids loosely attached.

 

+1 on loose lids. Yeast will continue to respirate when stored this way, particularly if you feed it. The Mason jars may not withstand the pressure (I know EZ-Cap bottles won't! )

 

At any given moment I have five to six yeast strain kept in my home fridge. I usually brew every week.
If you don't ferment the yeast often, the yeast stat to loss it's vitality viability and health, If I like to keep some strain I usually make a starter before restore it back into the fridge.
In most cases it's more economic to buy new package.

If you really like to handle and reuse viable and healthy strain, read this great book "Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation"

 

See http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/yeast-in-storage-viability-and-vitality.149989/ for a great resource.

 

stored some in mason jars after doing the rinsing process with yeasts with lids open slightly til no signs of activity then sealed nice and tight. the yeasts lasts quite some time and when i have done yeast starters with the yeast they have been viable even after three months. refrigeration temps should be in the 40's to 50's. my opinion for what its worth. I have had good results with this procedure. I do yeast starters with these yeasts and they really take off

 

Mason jars are strong and can hold at least enough pressure to carbonate beer. They are probably rated to higher than that.

 

EZ-Cap bottles are also 'strong and can hold at least enough pressure to carbonate beer. They are probably rated to higher than that.' But I lost two to live yeast in a 37-ish degree fridge.

 

I brew monthly and aggressively when I'm starting to run low on kegs. (Maybe twice a year). I tend to about 2 or 3 strains of yeast. More than that just seems like too much juggling.

 

Ok, so lets say I stored my yeast in a mason jar in the fridge for 2 months in just water (no food). How do I go about revitalizing it for my next batch? Instructions like I'm stupid please.

 

Figure out how much viable yeast you think you have, then decide if you want to make a starter, either to increase the cell count and/or to increase the yeast's vitality. Calculators can help with all of this. Mr. Malty has harvested slurry calculations. As does BrewCipher. I'm not sure if YeastCalc supports slurries or not.

 

You have to make some assumptions on number of cells stored. Your mason jar has markings so you can measure the quantity of slurry. My guidelines suggest a density of 2 billions cells per ml of slurry. This is for yeast that has been rinsed and is probably a little bit conservative. Then adjust this figure for time . . . many calculators have a 21% loss rate per month. Then use the calculator to see if/what size starter is needed. I like yeastcalculator.com because it shows you the innoculation rate which can help make a more properly sized starter(s).

A couple of caveats: 2B/ml is not carved in stone. You can find other sources with different figures, I use what seems to work for me. Same with the time-loss of cells. My guess is the death rate is non-linear but the science on this subject is not complete. Most professional sources suggest re-using yeast in a matter of weeks, I routinely go a couple of months. Others post they re-start after 6 months with success.

I am always using a starter to revitalize (need the growth). Plus you know before brewday that all the little yeasties are ready for game-day. Expect a lag time of 1-6 hours and usually growth is complete in less than 24 hours.

 

I stored my washed yeast recently in some of the smaller mason jars that don't have any measurement markings. Am I just going to have to guesstimate the milliliters that I have at the bottom(slurry)?

 

If you have a ruler . . . it is as easy as pie.

 

Math is not my strong suit. So the number given for volume in the calculator in the link is it in ml? And are the measurements for height and radius in mm? Or does it matter?

 

Yeah, I'm thinking I'll just decant, get the slurry in suspension, and then get it into a sanitized measurement receptacle of my choice. Then just let it settle out again/take measurement before I make my starter.

 

If you measure in inches the volume will be expressed as cubic inches. The calculator in the second link converts cubic inches to milliliters. Example: a 2" diameter jar (1" radius) with 1/2" of slurry is 1.57 cubic inches which converts to 25.7 ml. If you measure in centimeters the volume will be in cubic centimeters which is the same as milliliters.

 

Do you have an empty one of those jars? Set it next to the full jar, add water to the empty jar to the same level as the yeast in the full jar. Measure the amount of water in the "empty" jar to see how many ml is there. That is the same as your yeast slurry. Unless you are under sterile (not sanitary, sterile) conditions you run the risk of possibly getting bacteria or wild yeast into your slurry if you decant the yeast into a measuring device before pitching.