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If it's dry yeast , no harm. The yeast that is still alive in the old pack will do no harm, it will add to the healthy yeast and will effectively add to your pitch rate. It will be harder to determine what the pitch rate is because the yeast count in the old pack is basically unknown. If the old pack were kept in a refrigerator or freezer, there is a good chance that there are a good percentage of live yeast. If it were kept at room temperature or very warm, not so much. Worse case you over pitch, not a big deal. Old dry yeast can also be added to the last 10 minutes of the boil as a yeast nutrient for the healthy yeast.
If it is liquid yeast, then just throw it away. There is autolysis going on with some nasty off flavors and odors. I wouldn't even add it to the boil as a yeast nutrient.
HighVoltageMan, thank you!
Yes it's dry yeast, S-04 I think. It was kept at room temperature. I'll just throw it in with the new packet then and go and read about yeast nutrient! Thank you for the quick and full response.
Ant
Yes it's dry yeast, S-04 I think. It was kept at room temperature. I'll just throw it in with the new packet then and go and read about yeast nutrient! Thank you for the quick and full response.
Ant
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It shouldn't hurt but I doubt it will help much except as yeast nutrient.
Dry yeast is pretty hardy. Tomorrow I'm going to bottle a 2.5 gallon batch of 1.045 bitter that was fermented by 6 grams of Muntons dated 11/16. I pitched it at 2pm and saw a hint of krausen at 9 pm and a half inch of krausen by 7am. Two days later no more bubbles and the krausen had fallen.
Most of the time I had it I kept it in the fridge, but it also spent several months at ambient 3.5 years ago and about a month on our most recent move.
Most of the time I had it I kept it in the fridge, but it also spent several months at ambient 3.5 years ago and about a month on our most recent move.
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It is amazing that it lasts that long. But when it's that old, you just don't how it will do. I guess you could pitch it, if you didn't see any activity you could just chase it with some fresh yeast.
