I tried making a starter from a 1st gen repitch that was a couple months old. After a couple days, it smelled a bit like band aids and alcohol so I dumped it. My LHBS was all out of WLP002 and they weren’t sure when they were getting more in. Seemed weird but whatever. I came home and took out a tube of expired WLP002 that’s been in the kegerator forever. The expiration date was 4 months ago. Made a starter and after 4 days there was finally some activity. It smells a lot better than the repitch. Would making a second starter with it help build it up? Seems like I read that somewhere.
What’s the OG of the beer?
I was thinking my regular IPA recipe around 1.065-1.067. LHBS had dry Lallemand London in stock too. Maybe a good sub?
I’d make a SNS starter with the 002. It’s not that out of date. Probably, the yeast don’t even have a calender, so they won’t know. ;D
SNS didn’t immediately pop up but I ended up at one of your articles anyways (Yeast Starters: The Shaken, Not Stirred Method)? Thanks for the info! I’ll give it whirl… or shake rather.
Denny’s article on SNS (one of them anyway):
And probably the definitive explanation direct from the source:
https://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=70926
To follow up, the SNS starter was active within a couple hours. By the afternoon, brew day was cleaned up and wort cooled to 65F. SNS was in full swing so I pitched the whole jug. As Denny mentioned, there was no indication the yeast had any idea it was 4 months past expiration. The end result is just as good, if not notably better, than the recipe I normally brew. Guess I’ll save a pint and use it again!