So, I put together a starter with the intention of brewing just before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, we had a family issue come up, and I had to leave town immediately. I threw the yeast starter in the fridge and, with the holidays and a constant barrage of family “stuff” to deal with, haven’t had a chance to take it out of the fridge. It’s been in there since just before Thanksgiving.
What are the chances it’s still good? At this point, I’ve gotten a couple 2 gallon fermenting buckets, so I figured I’d just use it with one of the experimental batches I want to do, instead of a full 5 gallon. Minor loss if it doesn’t ferment, but wanted to get opinions beforehand anyway.
#1 did the starter finish up and drop into a yeast cake or was it just getting started?. #2 was it sealed good or just covered with foil in the fridge ?
for me I have good luck so far up to a month. I put mine in a mason jar with a new lid .
I will release the pressure from time to time when I first put it in the fridge.
have not tried keeping one for more then a month .
It finished up and dropped. Looked pretty good when it went in the fridge.
It’s just been covered with foil in an old milk container in the fridge, though securely (I sanitized the hell out of it before starting). That said, we’ve been gone more than we’ve been here the last six weeks, so there hasn’t been much to disturb it.
Put your starter production date into YeastCalc and the estimated number of cells you grew with the starter.
YeastCalc is conservative, but not ultra conservative like MrMalty. If YeasCalc estimates you still have enough viable cells you are good to go.
It finished up and dropped. Looked pretty good when it went in the fridge.
It’s just been covered with foil in an old milk container in the fridge, though securely (I sanitized the hell out of it before starting). That said, we’ve been gone more than we’ve been here the last six weeks, so there hasn’t been much to disturb it.
I’ll be getting a flask soon.
Thanks again![/quote]
A flask is a waste of money. I use a Rubber Maid Soft Seal container for my starters. First one I bought was $6.00. The second was $5.00.
