Out of date yeast

[jono.]

Hi All - I am new to this forum. I've done a bit of homebrewing before but I had a ton of plums from my plum tree and didn't know what to do with them...so I got my old wine making kit out and thought I'd do some alcohol.

So I did one gallon and that is fermenting away nicely (got a sachet of yeast which was good for one gallon). More plums were ready, so I ordered some more yeast online (Young's dried active yeast) and prepped my plums (so to speak). They are sitting for 48 hours before straining, boiling and cooling and adding the yeast.

So here's the thing - I got my yeast today and it has a best before date of 20/10/2021. I contacted the shop and they were apologetic and refunded me...but I'm now in a position where I need yeast and do not have any.

I believe that it may still be alright - but is there a way I can test it to see if it is still alive? I cant get any unless I order it online because the homebrew shop here closed and only Wilko's sell and they are out of stock.

Thanks for your guidance all - much appreciated.

Jon

 

[jof]

Dried yeast, only a year out of date?

Chuck it in, it will be fine.

I've used dried yeast in from a beer kit several years out of date before. Ok extract can contents were a bit dodgy, but the dried yeast worked fine

 

[jono.]

hahaha that's ultimately what I'll do with it and I'm quite sure it'll be alright - but I got 2 gallon on prep here and sod's law is that it won't start. Didn't know if I could test it in like a glass of warm sugar water or something random like that to see if I can activate it

 

[The Baron]

Welcome to the forum.
I would think it would still ferment the wine if it does not show any action after 24 hours go down to Wilkos and buy some there to put you on

 

[jono.]

Wilko's are out of stock - that's why I had to get it online

 

[jono.]

And thank you for the welcome :)

 

[marshbrewer]

Jono, is it one of those tubs of Young's yeast, or a sachet? If it's one of the tubs, just use twice as much as recommended to compensate for the fact that it might not be as viable. Either way though, I'd wager it will be fine.

 

[jono.]

Jono, is it one of those tubs of Young's yeast, or a sachet? If it's one of the tubs, just use twice as much as recommended to compensate for the fact that it might not be as viable. Either way though, I'd wager it will be fine.

Yea it's one of the 100g tubs - sealed and unopened. Can definitely put more in to make sure.

 

[user 39926]

It'll be fine, if you're worried make a starter up first

 

[user 44889]

First welcome to the forum.
Yeah agree with all the above, use it but double dose to be safe... be careful it could erupt lol.
You could make up a yeast starter with friut juice.. plenty of vids on utube.
Happy Brewing

 

[jono.]

Thanks for the contribution folks - I've never made a starter up before. Got a good youtube link for one?

I'll be boiling and adding the yeast tomorrow so I'll be sure to post the outcome on here - at least if some other poor sod ends up wondering if it'll work they can check here for a yay or nay.

In other news the plum wine I started last week is going nicely - past the initial vigorous stage and slowing down but still getting a bubble through the air lock every 8 seconds or so.

 

[Scrattajack]

If the dried doesn't work, the backup is to use some yeast from the wine that's already fermenting.

 

[user 44889]

Sorry it's and old one but this guy knows his stuff, he's written a book on Wine Making with recipes.

 

[user 44889]

Just found out im in the same boat as you. Got a 2 gallon batch of Blackcurrant ready for yeast etc and found my Richies yeast and nutriant bbd 11/21 and this has been opened but still going to use it as in tub. I'm not bothering with yeast starter will let you know how it goes.

 

[jono.]

That's fine doesn't matter if it's old or not - I'm using my dads old recipe book for my plum wine and it was published in 1979 hahaha

Really helpful vid - would have been useful to at least see if the yeast activates even if I didn't use it as a starter

 

[jono.]

If the dried doesn't work, the backup is to use some yeast from the wine that's already fermenting.

ooooo didn't know that method - is it just a mater of adding some of the wine to the new batch?

 

[user 44889]

I pitched my out of date yeast at 2pm and is already active... air lock is bubbling slowly so all good. Don't think you'll have any problems with yours. Happy Brewing

 

[Scrattajack]

ooooo didn't know that method - is it just a mater of adding some of the wine to the new batch?

Pretty much. If the wine's ready for racking then you can just pour the new one onto the lees. Otherwise, yes, use some of the fermenting wine to kick it off.

 

[user 39926]

For a starter what I do is to warm either a small amount of fruit juice (if making one of those supermarket wines) or water with a dash of sugar in a sanitised mug for a few secs in the microwave. Just get the temp up slighty, sprinkle yeast on, cover with kitchen towel and pop somewhere dark for 30-40 mins. You should see/hear some activity.

 

[jono.]

So here is the update folks - I added the yeast and nutrient yesterday morning...nothing all day...and in the evening I started to notice a little frothing around the top of the bottle.

I woke up bright and early this morning and they are both blubbing away nicely (I call it the 'blubs' of success!). They'd actually frothed into the airlocks so I just gave them a quick rinse and fresh water in them.

So for any newbies concerned about out of date yeast - don't be! It might take a little longer to get going but mine is absolutely fine, This yeast was 10 months past the best before date. I did put a little extra in but only a little (said 1 teaspoon per gallon, I had 2 gallon and put in 2.5).

This is a very helpful forum with good, knowledgeable members - but hopefully if you are reading this and concerned about your yeast then follow what the folks have written to test it works, but the chances are it will be absolutely fine to use.

Here's to hoping it will be a good batch - cheers!